Midnight Trail
by Evelyn Panda
Summary: Ever since the death of his twin, Ventus Fair, Roxas took up Drag Racing for the thrill of it. But what happens when the wrong person discovers his illegal hobby? RoxasXOC
1. Nightmares and Dreamscapes

Chapter One;

Nightmares & Dreamscapes

_Sky-blue eyes were glued to the iPod as the blond walked down the street, heading for his father's company building. It wasn't because he wanted to, it was because he **had** to check in with the man. He still lived under his roof. It was a decent part of the town, although there had been a few suicides over the years from people jumping off of the large buildings that lined the streets. It seemed like it was a crowded space, the town, because of how close the buildings were, but that was definitely not the case. The buildings on the inside were huge, leaving one wondering how they fit so closely together when it seemed so small._

_And the area was only an hour walk from the school he attended, making it a two hour walk back to the house, but he didn't care, in all honesty. It gave him time to think over what he was going to do when he reached his destination._

_And a lot of the time he spent checking on his twin, or just hanging out with him._

_Rounding another corner, he continued down the street, unable to hear the people screaming. He was looking at lyrics to a song he had on full blast in his ear. (Imagine that...). The second he did lift his head, his body went rigid, and it felt like the world had just stopped turning, and time stood still._

A loud scream echoed through the small room as Roxas sat straight up in bed, his eyes wide, his body covered in a light sheen of cold sweat, his breathing heavy. No matter how much time had passed, the same dream haunted him almost every night. Looking over to the clock, it was only five minutes till he was suppose to be up for school. Knowing he wouldn't be able to sleep, he swung his legs over the edge of his bed, and looked to the picture sitting on the nightstand next to his bed, his eyes becoming half lidded. _Exactly a year ago...Happy birthday..._He thought, almost bitterly. Some birthday present that was...

Shaking his head, he couldn't exactly be mad. There was just so much going on in their lives that things were getting stressful for the both of them. Roxas sighed and ran his fingers through his hair, letting his eyes slide closed. His mother had died giving birth to him, and his twin brother, Ventus. Since, they had lived with their father, who was a big name. He owned a corporation that was huge around the would. Everyone either knew him, or knew of him.

After all, he owned several hospitals around the world. It had started off as a non-profit thing, but in the end, the man became a multimillionaire. And the boys felt they had to try and live up to that.

However, it had began to put stress on the both of them. Roxas put all of his negative energy into skate-boarding to clear his mind. It helped, because it made him focus on how to keep himself from breaking his neck, helped him with his balancing skills. But Ventus...He kept it all inside, only releasing it through his art, which tended to be a bit morbid at times. Though, the majority of it was beautiful art work, and Roxas always praised him for it. In fact, he had received a few pieces of art for birthdays and Christmas'. And those pieces still hung on his walls.

Since Ventus really didn't have a better way to distract himself, everything became too much, and the kids at school weren't helping, so the older blond had decided to end it all.

And Roxas still suffered.

After his suicide, Roxas all but just left his father's house, and stayed at a homeless shelter. During that time, he put all his time and effort into learning to drag race, remembering that Ventus said it would be cool to be able to do something like that at least once in his life for the thrill of it all. And all of this was happening while he was only fifteen. It was only four months ago he had actually gotten the apartment from the earnings of his very first drag race.

Pulling himself out of bed, he walked to the bathroom and refused to look at the mirror as he walked past it, turning the hot water on and stripping out of his night clothes, before stepping into the water. It was hard enough looking at the pictures he kept. He didn't want to look in the mirror and be fooled into thinking his twin was there with him. As the water washed over his back, his eyes drifted close again, and it seemed to relax him a little more. Until he heard his alarm screaming at him from the other room. Washing up, he climbed out, dried off, and got dressed, grabbing his bag and a piece of toast before heading out the door.

No one at his current school really knew his name, or much about him. He had transferred after the so called 'accident', and kept his family a secret. If anyone asked, he just told them he lived with his grandparents because his parents were dead, and that he was an only child. And they always bought it. Hearing his cell go off, he glanced down to see a text message, giving him the time and location of a race that was going on that night, with the offer of taking on one of the best drag-racers. He was gonna take it. He had bills to pay.

_Huh, not many sixteen-year-old's can say that._ Roxas thought as he sent his reply as a definite show. Pausing, he glanced to his left, where the graveyard was, before he continued walking. The last thing he needed was to bring himself down anymore than he already was. It was hard getting through the day when he had that nightmare.

He had blamed himself for it all. They were twins, after all. He should have seen it coming. He had noticed a change in his twin, but never really thought it was anything too serious. He just figured he was just sad, or was in a rut with his artwork. A bit of encouraging words had escaped his lips, telling his twin he was going somewhere with his art, but nothing about him being able to talk to him had come out of his mouth. Taking in a deep breath, he continued on his way to school, turning his phone off.

Even if he did stupid things, like the racing instead of getting a real job, school was important to him. He and Ventus had made a pact to finish high school at least. And Ventus had planned to go to art school. Roxas made him promise to at least give it a shot once they graduated, and he did. But in return, Roxas had to make a promise to, no matter what, just keep looking forward, and smile.

That was around the time Ventus had began to act a little different.

_Why didn't I see that one?_ Roxas asked himself, his own thoughts bitter towards himself. There were a lot of things he could have done to save his brother, but he didn't.

His blame was silent, and he pushed through the day with a smile, and pretended everything was okay. He made a promise, after all. Though, it was still pretty damn hard. The two were so close, they refused to get their own rooms. Though, their own beds were definitely a must. And when one needed the comfort, they'd walk over to the others bed, and were welcomed with open arms, and a warm smile of comfort. It lasted up until they were just about fifteen.

The night before their fifteenth, Ventus had called Roxas over to his bed, and they had cuddled up together, falling asleep, each with a smile on their lips. Roxas hadn't noticed that Ventus' had been empty. At least he had gotten an explanation in a note that was left for him in Ventus' will, along with all of his art-work.

_He was only fourteen, he didn't need a damn will._ He thought. He had zoned out so much, thinking back, he hadn't realized he was already in the school building, at his locker.

It wasn't that he didn't want to tell everyone about his twin, but Roxas just refused to do that to himself. People would ask questions, and he was not in the mood for interrogations. On top of that, he didn't want to be associated with his father. He was doing just fine on his own, and hadn't asked the man for a single penny. His excuse was that he wanted to start his life over. To try and make things work out better. To try and be able to cope better with the loss.

No matter what, though, when he woke up in an empty room, it always made his heart drop.

Realizing where he was, Roxas took in another deep breath, put a smile on his lips, shut his locker, and headed for his first class of the day. Art class.

Hey, he wasn't just inspired by his wishes. Roxas was inspired to take up art in the name of his twin as well. It was a little more productive, and would earn honest money. However, that wasn't as much of a motivator as the drag-racing. Ventus had been right. The thrill of it was addicting.

Walking to his first class, Roxas took his usual seat in the middle of the class, and pulled out his sketch book, starting to sketch something out while he waited, making a face as he started.

_Nothing compares to you..._

It seemed as if eternity had passed before the bell rang, starting classes for the day.

_Fuck, why couldn't it be a damn weekend?_

**~Panda~**


	2. Piper

**Piper**

This is what happens when she hits the snooze button!

This always seems to happen to Piper McAllister. Every morning the alarm clock would wake her up and she would slam down on the snooze button for more time to sleep. Her parent's were off at work before she had to get up, so she didn't have them to yell and scream at her to wake up. In all honesty, that was relief because that would have surely ruined her day. It was easy to aggravate her, and people acting up towards her or just being plain rude always did the trick. Especially if you're just out to piss her off.

Staring at her own reflection, she took a minute or two, to apply eyeliner to the bottom of her eyes to the corners. It always brought out her reddish eyes. Her mother said that they often reminded her of the color of bricks. That always peeved her a little bit. All throughout elementary school kids would sometimes refer to her as a demon because her reddish eye color. It didn't help that their older siblings liked to fill their heads with scary stories about people with 'red' eyes. She brought it up to the teacher once, but all she did was tell them to consider the feelings of others. In other words, the teasing still went on.

The memory of that brought a frown to her cherry lips. Setting down the eyeliner, she picked up a brush that sat beside the sink. She stared at her reflection as she brushed all the tangles out of her bright burgundy hair. Her mother would tell her that her hair was a good way to describe her personality. She was introverted but had a fiery personality when it called for it. She would also say that she was lucky to have a friend to mellow her out before she got herself into trouble.

Words like that always pissed her off the most. She didn't understand why her parents doubted her ability to control her temper on her own. But.. The more she thought about it, if she didn't have Midna, Dillon, or Gaige she probably would have murdered someone. Okay, huge exaggeration.. But she would get into trouble for verbally assaulting someone or decking them in the face. She was shy to a certain degree, it was just when she's angered that she becomes more open.. If she feels that she can't keep it inside.

Fixing the yellow tie that went with her school uniform, she turned to look into the body length mirror. Looking at her reflection, she nodded her approval. She never did like dressing in just her uniform, so she wore her fingerless gloves on both arms that went up to her elbows with straps that went along the top: on the end of it was also a black ribbon tied into a bow. She hated the short, red, plaid skirt that the school required for the girls to wear. It was ridiculous. At one point, Piper seriously wanted to start a petition so that girls could have uniforms that come with pants. Skirts made it like the girls were just asking to be molested. If anyone was actually molested, the school should be sued for over-exposure of their students.

Yeah, that would go REAL well.

She'd probably be hated by a majority of the male population at East Hartford High School.

Oh well, when did she ever live to please them?

It was only ten minute walk from her house to the school. Almost every morning she would normally meet with her friends at the willow tree, near the school entrance. When she got to the willow tree, they weren't there since school was already in session. A soft sigh slipped from her lips as she looked at the time on her cellular phone. It was a quarter after eight. School started at seven o' clock. Damn, she missed her first hour.

She didn't really like Algebra anyway...

While she had her phone out, she texted Midna and Dillon and Gaige that she ran a little late and that she would see them in third hour. None of her friends had second hour with her. She wished they did, since it would make Government a little more entertaining. By the time she got into the building, the tardy bell rang for second hour. She went to the office to pick up a late pass and then headed for her Government class.

"Look whose here. Sleep in?"

The voice belonged to Professor Xemnas.

"Yeah... Sorry." Came Piper's shy reply as she quickly made her way to her desk. Not wanting to be questioned further by the teacher. When she sat down, she got her notebook out to take notes on the information on the board. She heard something that sounded like a pencil lead snapping from being pressed down too hard. She didn't look to see where the sound came from, so instead she focused on her work.

"Hey, Red-"

It was Roxas Fair.

Poke.

"Piper was it? Can I borrow a pencil for a-"

"Shut up. Leave me alone." She snapped before he could even finish, making Roxas cautiously pull his hand back to his lap. His expression looked as if he was afraid she'd snap his hand off if he didn't.

"Uh.. Heh. Sorry?"

All he got out of her was a small grunt in reply. She didn't even look up to see who asked her.

"Here you go Roxas!"

Xion walked past Piper's desk to hand it to Roxas with a bright smile that Piper wanted to punch off her face. They never got along. She was one of the people who helped make Elementary school a nightmare. The girl used to have long obsidian hair, but cut it boyishly short over the summer. It seemed a lot of girls enjoyed that hairdo nowadays. Roxas smiled up at Xion and took the pencil from her.

"Hey, thanks..."

"You should avoid asking her for anything. She won't talk to anyone."

"Maybe she's misunderstood?"

"Misunderstood? She bit Riku and drew blood. She should be in a cage." Xion told him matter-of-factly, leaning up against his desk.

"Self-defense? Riku could have-"

Roxas was interrupted by Piper.

"Hey, Xion, better get away from my desk before I give you rabies."

Roxas pushes his chair back slowly , with his hands raised in surrender, before looking at Xion. "I'm good!I'd rather not get in the crossfire."

Xion gave him a look before looking to Piper. "You should get a muzzle. I don't know why the school let you in." She growled out, inching towards Piper's desk.

That got a reaction out of Piper. She slammed her fist down on her desk before standing up, abruptly turning to Xion. A smirk pulled on her cherry lips when she noticed the height difference between them. Piper was taller by a few inches.

"A muzzle can't stop me from doing this."

After that was said, Piper slammed a fist in Xion's face.

"Hey! Stop it, right now!" Professor Xemnas yelled out.

The impact made Xion stumble back into Demyx's desk, who was trying to sleep through class. "Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Someone's trying to sleep!" Demyx growled sleepily before taking in what was actually happening. When he did, his eyes widened and quickly got up out of his desk. "Holy shit!" He exclaimed as some of the other classmates stood up to see Xion try to claw at Piper's face. Just when Piper grabbed her pencil and lifted it, Roxas got in between them, facing Piper with hands up.

"Hey, stop it, it's... Ouch!"

He didn't get a chance to try and talk Piper into calming down. Instead, he got stabbed by a pencil. Today just wasn't his day. He was glad that the uniforms required him to wear a jacket, otherwise the sharp end of the pencil would have pierced his skin. His wide blue eyes met with Piper's narrowed, auburn ones. The teacher bustled over and grabbed Piper by the arm.

"Office. Now! I won't tolerate violence in this classroom!" Xemnas growled.

"Going." She said in a dull tone, ripping her arm from his grip and storming out the classroom door.

"Alright, class, settle down."

It took a while for the class to stop conversing about the fight that had just occurred between Xion and Piper. Xemnas looked to Roxas, "Roxas, you and Xion are excused to go to the nurse's office." He offered as he moved to sit back down behind his desk.

Roxas shook his head a bit, "No. I'm fine." He insisted quietly before sitting back down in his seat, but Xion only nodded and left for the nurse's station.

"I'm ready for lunch to get here." Demyx murmured sullenly before burying his head to try and continue his slumber.

**Evelyn: **Whoo! This was kind of fun to write. ^^ Piper is one of my OC's so I hope she wasn't too much. This is only the second time I've ever written a story with an OC. So, what did you think of her so far? Review? Pretty Please? Feedback would be awesome!


	3. Busted

**Busted**

Roxas winced a little as he rubbed his shoulder. The pencil hadn't pierced skin, but it still hurt like a bitch. With a sigh, he glanced into the lunch room, before shaking his head and walking straight out to the courtyard, walking over to the old, large tree that had been there since his dad's time in high school. Making himself comfortable under the tree, he let his eyes slide closed and relaxed a little bit. He hadn't seen Xion again since second hour, which meant she was probably sent home. He had actually been hoping to see that Piper girl again.

She had looked a little like someone he had known in elementary school, but couldn't put his finger on it. He just shrugged it off. If she had gone to his school, that probably meant she knew Ventus, and then she'd start questioning him. That's how he looked at it. Opening his eyes, he began to feel restless, and it wasn't helping that he just wanted to disappear for a while. He had to finish the day, or he'd fall behind. It wasn't that he couldn't catch up, he just didn't want to have that much work on his hands.

And to top it off, his brain decided to remind him of the race that was going on that night.

_SHIT! It's a school night! _He thought automatically sitting up with a frown on his lips. _Crap. I can't just bail, but..._ Sighing, he pushed himself up and stretched, trying to think of someone he would trust to bring his homework by his place if he suddenly began to feel ill. No one really came to mind. With a heavy sigh, he decided to finish the school day out, and planned out the rest of his night.

[][][][]

School ended, and the day seemed to pass by too slowly for Roxas. He had his homework done, and he was growing antsy. Sitting on his small, plush couch, he flipped through a few channels, making a face, wondering why he even had the thing. He never really watched it. Glancing to his watch, he rolled his eyes and got up, walking into his room to change out of his school uniform. How could he forget about that?

Throwing on a pair of black Tripp pants, and a loose, black t-shirt, Roxas took a glanced towards the mirror he was just out of line with, before turning away from it. Grabbing his keys, he started out the door, a smile on his lips as he walked to his car. Climbing in, he started the engine and pulled out of the drive, making his way to a usually abandoned street at night. It rounded a bit along part of a 'hill' if you drove the entire length. It led out of the city, and it was big for drag races. It made Roxas wonder why they didn't have cops out there at night. Shoving the thought to the back of his mind, it took him at least two and a half hours to reach the starting point, where all kinds of people were around, cheering, bickering lightly, or just flat out making bets on who would win, or who would crash first. But the money placed was only on the bet for the winner.

Some of the people there still looked down on him, since he was young, and pretty much didn't believe in his skills. A lot of them had claimed his first win was beginners luck, or that he had cheated somehow. Or that the person he went against was just having a bad night, and didn't push on the gas enough at the start.

Roxas was unaware of the red eyes that followed him with shock as he walked over to a few people that had supported him his first round.

Gaige Lockhart's eyes widened in surprise at seeing Roxas Fair. The blond looked so much different outside of school. There was this dark look to him, like there was a lot on his mind, like everything he had was riding on the outcome of this race. His soft features had dulled, giving him a bit of an exhausted look.

However, in school, he usually held a smile, his composure seemed to be a bit up-lifting. His bright blue eyes were several shades darker than they were at school.

Or was he just seeing things?

"Alright! Five minutes to prepare!" A voice called out, and Gaige quickly ducked, peeking his head over the bushes that hid him from site. Roxas looked over to see Damiyan walking towards him. He forced a weak smile, knowing how these people worked. Stopping in front of Roxas, Damiyan eyed him a moment, and Roxas just gave him an empty smile.

"Good luck, Damiyan." He only knew the name because he had been told the second he got there. He was still learning names, and how dirty some of them played. All he had to do was keep distance between himself and Damiyan, or fight back, and risk getting killed.

"Hn. Yeah, you too, brat." Roxas just shrugged and walked to his car. Getting into the driver's seat, he took in a deep breath and closed his eyes.

_Relax. Getting worked up won't help._ He told himself, slowly opening his eyes to take a look at the trail. Midnight Trail. What a perfect name. The rules were the same; first one to make it to the school parking lot, where there were a few people, photographers of their own, waiting, and then back. They were random kids from around the neighbor hood, so it was a fair call.

The adrenaline was still coursing through his veins as he watched a random woman walked in front of them, making sure she was dead center so she wasn't in the way of the cars. Lifting her arms, both male's revved their engines, and the second her arms dropped, the two were off with squealing tires.

All the while, Gaige was taking play-by-play pictures of Roxas until he was in the car, before actually _filming_ the start of the race. Something he rarely, if ever, did.

It was an iffy start, and Roxas had taken the lead, but something just wasn't setting right with him. He couldn't put his finger on it though. Damiyan took that opportunity to pass him. Pushing the gas till it wouldn't go any further, Roxas felt his speed pick up. He had bills to pay, and a couple were due within the next couple of weeks.

[][][][]

Gaige, after the race, had made it a point to call Piper as he made his way back into the city, undetected.

Piper groaned when she heard her cell phone going off and lifted her head to look at the clock with a glare, before looking at the Caller ID. "Gaige Malekai Lockhart. I swear to everything that is holy, if you don't have a good reason to be calling me at three in the morning, I'm going to rip your head off when I see you tomorrow."

"I have a good reason. You remember that Roxas kid you said got between you and Xion yesterday. You will never guess what!" Gaige's excited voice came through the other end of the phone.

"Gaige!" She growled.

"He's one of the drag racers, and he's pretty damn good too."

"He drag races? What is he, stupid?" Piper's response came through.

And there was silence for a moment on the other end.

"You're so negative..." the red-head muttered.

"That wasn't a good reason, Gaige..." the girl replied with a light growl.

"You should ask him about it tomorrow... I mean, he seemed a bit different. I'll give you pictures to confront him with in the morning. Until then, get your beauty sleep!" With that, Gaige hung up, and Piper glared at the phone.

"Idiot..." She murmured, dropping her head back into her pillow, falling back asleep.

[][][][]

**~Panda~**

Sorry for the slightly fast moving chapter. And no, Roxas did not win that race. -sad face- However will he pay his bills on time?  
REVIEW, pretty please?


	4. Confrontation

**Confrontation**

The next couple of days went by pretty fast since she was home for those days, catching up on her sleep. Sleep is just a word for avoiding something you don't want to deal with. But on the third day, she knew she couldn't stay home again... It would triple the homework and she would fall behind for sure. Not only that, but her parent's would start asking questions about it. Not that they haven't already... But she didn't feel like dealing with more interrogations.

Lifting her head up from her folded arms, she looked around at the classroom as the warning bell sounded through the halls. She watched the students fill up the room, she found herself a little disappointed when she didn't see a certain messy haired blondie. Frowning a little, she set her head back down on her folded arms as she stared at the chalkboard with a bored expression.

This day was about to suck...

She heard someone sit behind her, and twitched at the sound of breathing in her ear. "Hey, Piper-" WHAM! The red-head jerked her hand back, hitting Demyx smack-dab in the face with the back of her hand.

"Ow... Hey, that wasn't very nice..."

"Neither is breathing down someone's throat. Why are you in Roxas' seat?" She asked curiously.

"Roxie's getting a seat change! The teacher just decided it might good for his sa-" He took in Piper's annoyed expression and smiled a little nervously. "I mean, he thinks it will keep the class in check... So that there aren't any problems-"

"And he puts you behind me?"

Demyx poked his two index fingers together with a pout forming on his lips. "Is that a bad thing? I'm not a bad person."

"No, you're just annoying."

Demyx huffed a little at the insult before turning his head a little bit. "Fine. I just won't talk to you then."

"Thank you."

Piper twitched at the sound of Demyx drumming his fingers with impatience. Apparently, he had a difficult time keeping his mouth shut. But before he could open his mouth and break the 'silence' , he was interrupted by the classroom door opening. Only to reveal Roxas.

"Sorry I'm late! Lack of sleep~" He said, tossing a late pass to an annoyed teacher.

"Have a seat." Xemnas drawled.

"Gladly."

Roxas turned and looked confused when he saw Demyx in his original seat. He looked around to see if anyone else had to change their seats. The teacher told him where his seat was and Piper smirked a little when he was assigned the seat right next to her. Demyx's jaw-dropped at the decision.

So much for keeping the class in check...

When Roxas sat down and got comfortable while burying his face in his arms, Piper lifted her leg and kicked the front leg of his desk. This startled him, making him jerk his head up with wide eyes. "I'm up!" He announced, making a few students around him snigger at his reaction and it earned him a glare from Xemnas. He looked to Piper finally and frowned.

"What was that for?"

"So, I hear you like to do illegal stuff- I have to say, that's the last thing I expected from-" She was interrupted when Roxas' hand shot out and covered her mouth without thinking.

"Shhh."

Piper grabbed his wrist and jerked his arm down so her mouth wasn't concealed. Her delicate eyebrows furrowed at him.

"What? You don't do a very good job at hiding it if Gaige found out about it."

"What do you want?"

"What do you mean?" Piper asked, blinking with curiosity now.

"For your silence. Do you want money or...? At least let me explain-"

Piper laughed a little bit at the question like it was the most absurd thing she's ever heard. "I'm not interested in anything you have to offer... Well... Actually maybe I do. And I want to hear your explanation." She grinned.

Fuck.

**Evelyn: I apologized if this chapter seemed a little … Blah. Review, pretty please? :D**


	5. Explanations and Blackmail

Explanations & Blackmail

Roxas had solemnly agreed to give Piper an explanation, but he wasn't going to do it in class, so he told her where to meet him at lunch. Alone. And now he was pacing back and forth, waiting for her to show up, still trying to come up with an excuse. _I like the thrill of it?...It's the only way I can pay my bills...? What kid has bills this young? GAH! Crap, crap, cra..._

"Roxas."

"Ah!" Roxas jumped and snapped around, a sheepishly shy smile crossing his lips as sky-blue met brick red. "H-hey there, Piper..." He said a bit nervously, his eyes traveling over to Gaige. _I thought I told her alone..._ He thought a bit bitterly, frowning when the pictures were held in front of him.

"So you can't lie your way out of this." The red-head said, and Roxas took them, flipping through them.

"So, where's the explanation?" Piper asked as Roxas flipped through the pictures, growing a little more irritated by the second.

"Charity. Anything I earn from the races, I hand over to charity. Illegal or not, children and animals need help." He replied, as if he had thought of it hours ago, lifting his gaze to meet Piper's. Her expression showed she didn't really buy it, before it softened a bit and she nodded.

"But! C'mon! I thought you were just some random 'bad-boy' in disguise! You have to have a more interesting story!" Gaige whined, reaching for the photos. Roxas' eyes widened a bit, and he pulled them out of reach.

"Eh, I think I'll hold on to these, alright? I don't really need anyone else knowing about this, okay?"

"He's hiding something..."

"Gaige, give it a rest. If he says it's for charity, it's for charity." Piper said, glancing to her friend. Roxas just smiled innocently and shoved the pictures in his back pocket.

_Note to self; Burn pictures immediately._ Roxas thought as he nodded and flicked a wave to them. "Alright then, I'll be off..." He said aloud, walking away from them.

Piper watched him a moment, before glancing to Gaige. "I'll...Meet you at the lunch table." She said, turning to follow after Roxas, catching him before he got too far. Feeling a hand on his shoulder, Roxas paused and glanced back with a slightly confused look on his face.

"So, is charity what it's really for?"

"What else would it be for?"

"I don't know. People can be unpredictable." She replied, raising a brow at him. Roxas seemed to hesitate for a short moment, glancing past her shoulder, before glancing to her.

"It's for charity." He assured, turning to continue on his way.

"Fine, I believe you." She replied, folding her hands behind herself and continued to follow him, causing him to glance over his shoulder at her, curiosity shining in his eyes.

"Hm?"

"It's a free country." She replied, tilting her head a bit. He made a face and pointed down the hall of the school.

"But...I have to use the mens facility. You can't follow me in there." He pointed out. Though, it was probably just an excuse for a bit of freedom from the interrogating eyes.

"Uh huh..." She dragged out, tilting her head. "Well, I'm headed that way, anyway. I'll escort you." She said with a smile, and Roxas smiled back weakly, and started to walk again. He had to admit, he hadn't felt this awkward since his last day at his previous school. "So, you weren't at this school last year...?"

"...My mom got transferred here on a job." He lied, keeping his eyes ahead of him.

Digging a hole, deeper and deeper. He'd have to make sure no one ever came to his house, or followed him home. That would be a very bad thing.

"I see. What does your mom do?"

"She's a florist." At least that wasn't a lie. That was his mother's occupation..._When she was alive._

"I see. That's awesome." He nodded lightly, and hadn't realized they had slowed down. "Flowers have so many different meanings, and their so beautiful." Piper seemed to zone out a little bit, before looking to Roxas. "Does your mom know...?"

"No..." Roxas quickly looked at her with a frown when a small smile crept along Piper's lips as they came to a stop in the middle of the hallway. And the smile didn't look too promising for Roxas. "You'll keep this a secret, right?" He asked, almost pleadingly, his eyes showing off his fear of being caught. And the smile widened.

"For a price." Roxas felt his heart drop, and his shoulders sag a little.

"What's that...?" He asked cautiously. He was already screwed with his rent, he honestly didn't have the money to hand out to anyone.

At least that wasn't the problem.

"You do as I say until the end of the school year." Roxas' eyes widened, and he opened his mouth to protest. "And word to the wise, he has a digital camera. He still has the pictures on it, and they could easily be posted all over."

"Piper...!" Roxas tried, his heart beating against his chest. This was not good. He had too much to do as it was, like he needed to be someone's slave.

"Then I'll tell the entire school, and your secret will be out." She warned, folding her arms, and Roxas let his head drop.

What else could he do?

"As long as this stays between me, you and Gaige, then I'll do whatever you ask of me." He muttered, and Piper smiled.

"Good. I'll meet you after school. You'll be doing my homework tonight, Mr. Grade-A student." She said, waving as she turned and headed back to the lunch room. Roxas slowly lifted his head to watch her head off, tears brimming in his eyes. As if life wasn't stressful enough. Turning, he pushed the door open to the boys' bathroom and locked himself in a stall until the end of lunch. He felt sick to his stomach, so it was the best thing for him.

Not like it got any better through the day. In fact, it only got worse as it neared the end of the day. Sitting in his last hour, he just felt like leaning over the trashcan next to the teacher's desk and emptying whatever he had eaten, if he had eaten anything that day. He hadn't had lunch, but had he had breakfast? He couldn't remember, and it wasn't helping his stomach at all. The thought of food was making it worse, and the ticking on the clock seemed to be giving him a headache. Letting his head hit the desk, Roxas let his eyes fall closed.

"Mr. Fair?" Professor Reno, the Science-fiction teacher, called over. Roxas hummed his reply, and the person next to him spoke up.

"He looks like he's ready to throw up." It was a compassionate voice of a boy who still sounded too young to be in high school. Roxas recalled his name to be Sora Strife. "I'll walk him to the nurse's office." It was more of a question, and the voice seemed to get a bit louder as the boy had turned to Roxas, who whined and shook his head no.

"Go, Mr. Fair. I really don't want to deal with puke on my floors." the Professor said, and Roxas groaned, picking his head up, feeling small, soft hands helping him up. He tried to carry most of his own weight as they walked from the class room.

"Sorry..." He muttered, and felt Sora shrug.

"That teacher creeps me out anyway. I swear he's a pedo." Sora muttered, looking to Roxas. "Are you okay? I don't think I've ever seen you this sick before..." He pointed out, and Roxas shrugged.

"Nerves, that's all." He replied, looking over to Sora carefully, the cool air in the hall was helping. Maybe the fresh air outside would be better than the nurse's office. "I think it'd be better if we went outside." He then said, and Sora nodded, leading him to the front doors of the school, helping him sit back against the building. The air seemed like it was helping a lot. The color was returning to his face, and Sora tilted his head a little bit.

"Do you want me to bring you...?"

"Nah. I'll get it before the teacher locks the doors. You should head back inside." Roxas cut him off, looking up with a smile as a thanks, and Sora nodded, smiling back before he turned and headed inside.

It felt like eternity before the bell rang. Roxas remained put, waiting on Piper. He'd get his stuff after Piper handed him whatever he needed to work on. Sure enough, she was there to meet him not ten minutes later, a smile on her lips as she held out a blue folder with fancy little floral designs along the front edge. "That's everything, Roxie. I do hope you have fun." She said with a wave, and Roxas just glared at the back of her head.

"Yeah, real fun." He muttered under his breath, holding the folder as he shoved the doors open to the school, heading back up to his last hour class room and getting his stuff.

He took his time getting home, and started on Piper's work first. He took a bit of his time, then went back and checked all of it twice. By the time he had gotten home, and had her work done, it was almost eleven at night, and he still hadn't ate. That was brought to his attention when his stomach growled at him angrily. With a sigh, he stood and walked into the kitchen, grabbing a quick snack before heading back to do his own home work.

And halfway through, he crashed, his homework only half finished.

**~Panda~**


	6. Jealousy or Envy?

**Jealousy or Envy?**

It's been three weeks into the school year and Piper still wasn't making it easy on Roxas. Because of this, Roxas was falling behind on his own grades and it even got bad to the point where his dad made an unnecessary visit to his apartment. He couldn't just tell Piper 'no' otherwise the cops were going to be aware of his illegal racing... He could lose everything then. Jail would probably be the first place they would send him if they found out.

This was just great.

He thought it would be a good thing to go to the Cafe after school. Maybe he can get some peace and quiet there for a while? That's all he hoped for: just a couple hours of relaxing over a cup of coffee. Man.. He reminded himself of an old man. With all the stress in his life, it's amazing that he didn't have a full head of grey hair. If he had to deal with Piper anymore, the future looked grey and wrinkly. Before he knew it, he would probably need a cane to support him. Piper might break his back if he decides to 'slow down' on the homework.

With a heavy sigh passing his lips, he walked into Kleo's Cafe. The smell of brewing coffee filled his senses. The aroma always calmed his nerves whenever he had just gone through a stressful day of losing a drag race or dealing with High School. Not only that, but there's rent to worry about too! The stress keeps piling up. He sat down in on one of the sofas in the Cafe. It was a cozy atmosphere. There were several rooms one could go into and see arranged furniture with paintings hung neatly along the walls.

He plopped down on one of the sofa chairs, leaning his head back against the cushion. A content sigh slipped from his lips.

The silence was cut short-

"Hey, Roxie! I didn't expect to see you here-"

Roxas didn't need to open his eyes to know that the voice belonged to Xion. A soft smile graced his lips and a light laugh followed it, "Yeah, you don't come here very often, do you?"

"No, I'm not a huge fan of coffee." She wrinkled her nose at the mention of it, sitting herself on the arm of the sofa chair that Roxas sat in.

Roxas let out a short laugh of amusement. "Then why are you here?" He asked, looking up at her with curious eyes.

"They don't just sell coffee here. Weirdo." Xion said the last part in a playful tone and an eye-roll to go with it. "That, and I'm actually meeting someone here. They're running a little late."

"Hey, leave me alone. These last few weeks have been extremely long.."

Xion frowned at hearing this and lifted her hand up and rested it on Roxas head, itching the area near his right ear. Roxas instinctively tilted his head toward the hand and instantly felt relaxed at the touch. This made Xion smile.

"You are just like a cat."

Piper was in the backroom taking her thirty minute break. When she walked back up to the front, she suddenly wished that she would have snuck out and call it a day. If she did that, she would definitely be without a job. She really couldn't afford to lose it. But for some reason she didn't like watching Xion and Roxas together. Hell, she didn't like watching any couple together. Maybe it was because of lack of experience?

Piper has always had trouble when it came to relationships. She would either be too afraid to admit her feelings for the person, or her ways of keeping them around would be slightly extreme. Sometimes it would be mistaken for simply just being a total bitch towards the person. Right now, she wasn't sure what she was feeling at the moment.

Her stomach felt like it was twisting in knots, it kind of made her wish that she was lying down. When Roxas looked over in her direction, she turned to look away and busying herself while making a chicken salad croissant for another customer. When she finished it, she set on a plate and balanced it on her left palm as she walked around the counter. When she walked by, she heard Xion's remark.

"I can't believe anyone would hire her."

She had to bite down on her tongue to keep herself from snapping. She took in a deep breath and forced a smile on her face for a customer when she served him his sandwich. Exchanging pleasantries, she turned around and the smile disappeared immediately as she walked towards Roxas and Xion's table. When she got to their table she slammed her fist down on the surface in front of Roxas, making him jump a little bit. She bent down a bit so her arms were folded on the surface and her face was close to his.

"If all you're going to do is sit and whine to Xion then I'm done. Forget everything." She straightened her posture and turned around to walk away. When she got to the counter, she took off the apron that she was required to wear.

"I'm getting off early!" She called out, not caring who heard her and walked out of the Cafe.

**Evelyn: I know, I'm evil, eh? XD Review, pretty please? I'm even leaving dear Panda-chan in the dark! Haha! ^-^ **


	7. Hey There, Jealousy

**Hey, There Jealousy**

"Piper-"

Piper heard Roxas call out her name but she didn't turn around to look at him. Instead, she picked up her pace, not wanting to deal with him right now.

"You honestly can't expect me to say nice things about you when you're black mailing me?" He told her with disbelief coating his voice. When he didn't get a reply, he let out an irritated growl, reaching out and grabbing her arm. He didn't even have to pull her back, she whipped around and met his blue eyes with her fiery ones.

"So you were talking about me? So, tell me? What were you and Xion talking about?" She questioned immediately.

Roxas let out a light laugh of disbelief. "This is stupid. I defended you to her. I told her that she should back off if she didn't have anything nice to say if you were near us you would have heard it." He told her in a serious tone, when he did, she ripped her arm from his grasp. When she did that, he dropped his hand by his side. "Is this the way you treat me after I defended you a few weeks ago?"

"I didn't need you to defend me." She said, shifting her gaze to the side so she could avoid his. "I can defend myself." Her voice softened a little that time.

"Still. Even if you don't need me to, it's always good to know someone has your back, yes?"

Piper turned her back to him and she started to walk away from him. "Yeah, I guess." She said with a light shrug. Roxas took this as an 'okay' to follow her and so he did. The silence between them was awkward as they walked side by side. Sometimes Roxas found himself wondering why he still defended Piper to anyone. She was making things difficult for him, blackmailing him, and insulting him daily. So why should he be nice to someone who is so cruel to the world around her.

Maybe it was because Ventus always believed in giving someone the benefit of the doubt? Roxas always thought that, that was his twin's worst quality. How could you give someone the benefit of the doubt after they did something to hurt you in anyway? No one could change so quickly, that's what he learned just by watching how his father handled situations. He was a liar and played dirty when it came to business. But then again, all businessmen played dirty when it came down to it. Blackmail and Power was their best friends and their enemies worst nightmare: depending on whether or not they are at a disadvantage.

It was kind of like what Piper was doing. Maybe he hoped that somewhere along the lines she might change her mind? Or was she seriously bored enough to try and ruin his life? What did he ever do to her? He didn't think he did anything to her in the past. If he did, it would be nice for her to call him out on his mistakes instead of doing this (for what it seems to be) no reason.

"Wanna play twenty questions?" Piper asked suddenly, keeping her eyes on the ground as she walked.

"Oh..Kay." Roxas agreed cautiously.

"Alright. You have to answer honestly: We'll take turns asking questions, okay? So- Where do you live?"

The question almost made Roxas trip over himself in surprise. Composing himself, he hid the tempting smile. "The city. Duh."

"Okay, smart-ass." Piper said with an eye-roll, accepting that answer. "Your turn." She told him, shoving a few strands of hair behind her right ear.

"Are you Bipolar?"

"Nope. Are you mentally-challenged?"

"I prefer mentally unchallenged." Roxas told her in a firm tone while glancing at her.

Piper smiled a little, "You should get checked for that."

"Well, you should get checked for a Bipolar disorder. Maybe that's why you get angered so easily."

Piper looked up to the sky with a thoughtful expression crossing her features. It wasn't the first time someone brought up that subject. Her parents commented on her anger issues and sat her down and talked to her about it. But, of course, Piper simply brushed off the idea. She didn't want to believe that anything was wrong with her, or seem broken. She didn't like feeling helpless and that was one of the many things that could pull her from her shy state. But it would only result in negative situations.

"What Floral shop does your mom work at?"

"Classified information. She works at home."

"Then how can she work for a Floral shop?" Piper asked, narrowing her eyes a bit.

"She grows stuff... For the local Floral shops. Duh. Why else would she work at home?"

It sounded strange to her, but Piper didn't push the subject.

"Your turn." She informed him.

Roxas bit his lip as he looked down at the ground with a thoughtful look. There were a lot of questions he could ask, but how could he ask her without it coming out wrong? Just by hanging out with her these last few weeks and watching her while she's around a crowd. She was like a time bomb. She could be set off at any random time. He suddenly remembered the dance that the school was holding at the end of the month. Maybe if he asked her to the dance, it would help butter her up a bit? Maybe if he was nice to her for a while, she'd back off and let his drag racing go? One could only hope.

"So, want to go to the dance with me?"

_**Evelyn: Hehe. Cliffhanger! So, should she say yes or no? :D What do you guys think so far? Let me know with a nice little review- pretty please? Constructive Criticism is always appreciated! ^-^ **_


	8. Crush

**Crush**

"So, want to go to the dance with me?"

Piper had stopped in her tracks and looked at him with slightly widened eyes, a very light, barely noticeable blush painting her cheeks. Did she just hear him right? Roxas stopped and looked to her with a tilted head, blinking a couple of times.

"Did...I say something wrong?"

"Did you just...ask me..." He nodded in response.

A few seconds passed, and she nodded slowly, a small smile crossing her lips. Roxas smiled back, that innocently sweet smile had usually wore at school.

"Perfect, then." He said, his smile softening. He looked like he was being genuinely sweet.

Piper was sitting on her bed with a smile on her lips, her blond friend on the other line of her cell. "Piper. Catherine. McAllister. If you don't tell me why you bothered to call me with this 'giddy' voice, I'm going to push you out a window the next time I see you." Midna warned.

"Okay, okay! Roxas asked me to the dance." She replied, taking in a deep breath to await the response of her best friend. And there was a moment of awkward silence.

"Pipe, I don't like him. I honestly don't think he's anything but trouble. I mean, seriously, it's like...a quarter of the way through the school year, and he picks now to start talking to you, and defending you?" Midna asked with a bit of a worried tone. "Not to mention, I honestly think he's hiding something." She added. Something wasn't adding up to her.

"It's fine. I have everything under control. Trust me, he won't do anything to hurt me." She promised, standing up and stretching. "Now, you're coming with me to go shopping for a dress. Hurry up and meet me at my house in at latest an hour. I need help finding one."

"Piper, listen to me for a second..." Midna tried, only to find that she had been hung up on. Staring at her phone, she made a face. "Ohhhhh, Piper! I swear she's like a little girl with a cru... Oh my God, she likes Roxas." Midna stated, eyes widening a bit. She was definitely going to have to dig out some dirt on this guy. And who better to ask than the school's expert stalker; Nakita McCarthy?

Walking into the small apartment, Roxas sighed with relief. He was glad to be home, making mental note to, at all costs, avoid his classmates outside of school. It meant nothing but trouble for him. Collapsing onto the small couch, he let his body fall to the side, his eyes sliding closed. "Dammit. Now I have to come up with the money for a nice little suit or something." He muttered. Brilliant plan, Roxas. Just brilliant.

After a few minutes, he slowly opened his eyes again and realized; Double homework night. Getting up, he pulled the folders he needed out and got to work.

Once again Piper found herself staring critically at her reflection while running her slim fingers down her curves. It wasn't like her to be critical of her body, but every girl has to slip occasionally and start to doubt herself. Her reddish brown irises glossed over her figure as she turned in different directions to get a better look at herself. What kind of dress would she wear to a Fairytale dance, anyway? She wondered this to herself as she tried to picture herself dressed in anything that looked like it popped out of a Fairytale.

She felt like Cinderella: the blonde, princess-to-be, was very doubtful of herself at one point.

Where was Midna?

If her best friend didn't hurry up and get to her house in the next half hour, she was just going to forget about the dance. It wasn't her money that was on the line. So what did she have to lose? A lot according to half the female population in East Hartford High school. Some girls like to toy with the idea of Piper scaring the boys away with her 'shark-like" personality. The remembrance of being called a shark, made her snicker to herself. It didn't bother her as much as it amused her. But it bothered her at how they rate her likability when it came to the opposite gender. Yeah, she wasn't the easiest to get along with, but she had friends that were guys. And they seem to like her the way she is. People made it so hard for others to not judge. If a certain person acts a certain way, then of course they are going to assume the worst in the people surrounding that person.

A knock on her bedroom door interrupted her thoughts.

"Who is it?" Piper called out as she walked towards her door.

"It's the Fairytale Fashion police! Now open up!" Midna said in a sophisticated voice before banging on the door some more. "Come on! It's cold in the hallway!" The blond said this while bouncing on her tiptoes, rubbing at her arms.

"Hold on!" Piper chuckled lightly before unlocking the door and opening it, only to have Midna come bustling in with a dress in tow. Her eyes were shining with purpose when she turned to face Piper.

"I've been working on this dress for the last two months. I was planning on making you going to this dance with me. I mean what girl should miss out on a magical dance, like the Fairytale Ball?" Midna gushed, handing the dress over to Piper by the hanger.

"You found out about the dance around the same time we did. There's no way you could have known two months in advance!" Piper told her matter-of-factly, walking the dress over to her bed and setting down neatly. She started to undress so she can try it on. "How did you get my measurements anyway?" She asked with suspicion.

"Easy! All I had to was look at your size in pants, shirts, bra size... You were asleep, so it made my job easier!"

Piper watched her with comical disbelief, "Wha- well, that's the last time I'm letting you stay the night." She announced while observing the dress. It was beautiful, it was a maroon velvet with a white lacy underskirt. The sleeves looked like they clung to the the sides of her arms instead of her shoulders. She loved the dark purple ribbon that wrapped around the waist. She loved everything about this dress. Before Midna could whine about her comment, she smiled to her friend gently. "It's gorgeous!" Piper went up to her and gave her a big hug, which Midna returned gladly."Thanks."

"That's what I'm here for. I'm your Fairy Godmother, remember? It's my job to pretty you up for the ball. Now try on the dress, I want to see how it looks on you!"

When Piper tried it on, she shyly turned around in it, to show Midna the results. It was surprisingly comfortable, and it fit her waist perfectly. "How does it look?" She wasn't going to judge herself in a dress that Midna made herself. She didn't want to make it seem like she didn't like it. Because she LOVED it.

"He's going to drop dead. You're too gorgeous for him." Midna said flatly, walking over to Piper's bed and sitting down. Piper rolled her eyes at the compliment, Midna narrowed her eyes when she noticed that gesture. "I'm serious! Don't be so hard on yourself, you could have any guy you want if you tried." The blond told her friend with a firm tone, She disliked how hard her friend was on herself and especially how defensive she was whenever a stranger says something to her. There were times where she wished her friend would be more open minded to the people around her, but she knew that being bullied made her that way. Around herself and Dillon and Gaige she's a fun person to be around, and it becomes more apparent that she's capable of making friends. It bothers her a little bit, though that she chose to give Roxas a chance. His reputation would more than likely get Piper into trouble, and she didn't want that for her friend. If all Roxas was going to do is use Piper just for the dance, than someone's going to get their asses beat. She and Dillon already discussed exactly what was going to happen.

"Yeah, right." Piper said with disbelief as she looked at herself in the mirror and did a little twirl. "I feel like a princess in this dress." She admitted to Midna softly. When she did, Midna squealed excitedly and jumped to her feet, skipping over to Piper's side.

"Good! Then it's the perfect dress for you! You can always tell that a dress is perfect when you feel like a princess." Midna informed her with a grin spread on her lips. The smile was contagious, Piper couldn't help but smile back.

"So, are you and Dillon are going to the dance together, right?" Piper asked, turning around to face Midna with curious eyes.

Midna has had a crush on Dillon for the longest time, but hasn't done anything about it. Though, it's not surprising considering how many girls seemed to like Dillon as well. He was very charismatic, friendly, and Charming and a little perverse at times. Okay, a little would be an understatement, but he is respectful of women and is very gentlemanly towards people he didn't know. The only class that Midna and Piper had with Dillon was Choir class. As much as Piper loved Choir, there was just way too much drama going on in that class. You have those singers who think they're the cherry topping to every sundae and are bitchy towards other people, there were the freshman that would jabber on and on about pointless things instead of singing along with the rest of the choir. Not all Freshman were like that, but a majority of them were.

Speaking of bitchiness, it didn't help Midna that all the girls who were after Dillon were control freaks. If Midna didn't have his attention, one of the girls would come up and take it before she had the opportunity to say anything. Everyone wanted Dillon's attention, well the ones who knew him anyway. Which was a majority of the High School.

"No!" Midna snapped suddenly, a blush coloring her pale cheeks as she looked down. "I think someone else asked him, anyway."

"You know, you tell me that I can have ANY guy I wanted, but yet... I know for a fact that if you wanted Dillon you'd have him in a heartbeat." Piper encouraged, folding her arms together.

"I don't have a crush on him. We're just really good friends." Midna denied, looking up at Piper with a flat expression.

"Everyone in Choir knows about your crush on Dillon, except for Dillon." Piper told her. Midna was about to say something but Piper cut her off. "If he knew that you did like him, chances are that he feels the same way. Have you ever noticed the way he looked at you? Are you worried that what people say about him is true? Do you believe that he has a 'flavor of the week'?"

"No! No! Of course not! I mean, Dillon's not a womanizer and we both know that. But it's just, I don't like the idea of having so much competition..." Midna admitted, lowering her head a little bit to look at the ground. "It's discouraging, you know? I don't want to be in a relationship and then have a bunch of bitches try and ruin everything."

"Well, Dillon cares about you more than those other girls. I doubt you'd have anything to worry about and if they do try that, than you know that Dillon won't pay attention to them." Piper tried to convince, but frowned when Midna shook her head.

"I don't give a damn what others think, but it's the idea of it that throws me off, you know?"

"If you care about him enough, then all that trouble is worth it in the end."

It was funny how Piper could be so good with advise but be so anti-social in a large group. What made a huge difference was that, Midna was her friend and has been her friend since Elementary school. Without her, she probably wouldn't have survived Elementary school, Middle School, or half of High School. She was always there to help her whenever bullies were getting out of hand, and she always seemed to manage to find her in time when someone had her cornered. Dillon and Gaige didn't officially become apart of the group until eighth grade. That was when she realized that numbers mattered, no one really said anything to her or Midna unless they caught one of them alone or while the two girls were walking home together. When Dillon and Gaige were around, the worst they ever got was mean looks.

Midna nodded lightly and retreated back to the bed and plopped down on the cushioned surface. Her hands were folded on her lap as she looked to Piper with a soft smile. "I guess you're right. But, what if you're wrong and it turns out that he likes someone else? I'll look like an idiot and it'll feel really awkward..." She mumbled, fiddling with fingers.

"Dance with him at the Fairytale dance. See what happens then." Piper smiled when that suggestion made the other girl blush at the thought.

"Okay, okay! I'll do it! I'll ask him to dance, just be quiet already!" She grabbed a pillow off of Piper's bed and threw it at her face. Piper caught it before the object could hit her. A grin was on her face and Midna mirrored it. "Miss know-it-all! So, are you excited about going to the dance with Roxas?" The blond tried for a change of subject.

"Yeah... I didn't think he would ask me. Especially after-"

"After what?" Midna asked with sudden curiosity.

"Oh, nothing! I was mean to him in first hour. He asked me for a pencil and I just kind of … Snapped at him." She admitted with a small smile on her lips. When Midna gave her a look, she quickly added,"I was in a bad mood that day." That was a close one. Piper had no intention on letting Midna in on the blackmail. It was her way of keeping Roxas' secret, so no one was going to know about it. She did make a deal after all, and Piper wasn't the type to go back on her word. The only one he had to worry about was Gaige, since Gaige was the one who had the evidence of his drag racing activities. Piper knew that Gaige wouldn't say anything unless she told him to, since he was the only one who was aware of the blackmail. She did feel bad for leaving her best friend in the dark, but she wasn't so sure how Midna would react to the idea of Piper blackmailing Roxas. Dillon, surely, would have scolded her. Midna would probably do the same thing.

"Just be careful around him, okay? I hear a lot of bad things about him. I don't know whether or not they are true, but it's better safe than sorry."

"What kind of things have you heard?" Piper asked carefully with curiosity in her eyes.

"Like I said, I don't know if any of these things are true... But I heard around the school that he was expelled from his old High School because they found marijuana in his locker." Midna told her in a serious tone. "And he also got himself into a lot of fist fights... I also heard that he started the fight in the English hallway a few days ago. That's why he wasn't in school the day after." She told Piper pulling her feet up on the bed and scooted towards the headboard so her back was against it. When Midna moved, Piper sat down in the spot that she was previously sitting in. "I just have a bad feeling whenever he's around. Like he's going to start causing a bunch of trouble. When you go to the dance, I want you to be careful around him."

"I think you're overreacting." Piper told her.

"Think what you want. It's better to be safe than sorry." Midna informed her. "Dances are fun, but a lot can go wrong."

"Midna, I promise you. I'll be careful, so stop worrying, okay? I can handle myself. If he does anything stupid, I'll punch him in the face. Problem solved."

"That's not being careful! That's getting yourself suspended!" Midna scolded her gently, "Besides, how do you know he won't hit you back?" She added.

"If I need back up, that's where you, Dillon, and Gaige come in. You three are going to be at the dance too, right?"

"Well, yeah, of course we'd back you up. But a fight can be prevented."

"Look, there won't even be a fight. I'm sure of it. Roxas is careless, but he's not stupid." Piper frowned at the questioning look she received from Midna. Letting out an aggravated sigh, she looked down at her lap. "I don't think anything's going to happen." She told her friend firmly, looking over to meet her blue-eyed gaze.

"Hope you're right."

**Evelyn: Yay! So, what do you guys think? =D Review, please? **


	9. Never Could Have Been Worse

**Never Could Have Been Worse**

The next day hadn't come fast enough for the red-haired male, and didn't end quick enough, either. The whole day, since he had learned of Piper's escort to the dance, he had his eyes locked on Roxas, looking for anything that might show bad intentions from the blond. Nothing. Roxas had gone through his day like any other day. Except, he looked a little more down that usual. Gaige growled and ruffled his own hair in frustration. He was sitting in his last class, which he had with the blond, and was waiting for the bell to ring. He wanted nothing more than to just follow Roxas home and find out what exactly Roxas was trying to do.

"Gah! Come on, and just ring the damn dismissal bell!"

"Gaige!" The teacher snapped at his sudden outburst, and the class, but Roxas, looked between the two in amusement. The red-head just gave her a sheepish grin, and looked out the window innocently.

"Sorry, ma'am." He said quietly, watching Roxas' reflection. Absolutely no reaction.

Finally, the bell rang, and Gaige caught Roxas' arm before he got too far away. "Hey, buddy! Why don't I walk you home today?" He chirped, and Roxas blinked, tilting his head, before offering a weak smile.

"No, that's not necessary. Thanks, though."

"Let me rephrase that. I'm walking you home, kay? Good." He said, standing up and slinging his bag over his shoulder, slinging his free arm over Roxas' shoulder with a look that hinted Roxas had better just go with it, or everything he worked to hide was going to be out in the open. Roxas felt his blood run cold for a second, before anger coursed through his veins. And then he had to worry about Gaige wanting to go in. Oh, what a good day it had been for Roxas, waking up to his father putting him down, then having to deal with the blackmail thing all day.

He had caught on to Gaige spying on him. He wasn't stupid. The feeling of being watched in school was a lot easier to get than when he was out at a race. "The house is a mess, so you can't go in." Roxas came up with, leading the way from the school building. Gaige shrugged.

"Then we can talk outside." Roxas shot him an annoyed look, tilting his head. Gaige just gave him a smile, and Roxas rolled his eyes, and began to lead the way in silence. He had wanted to stop by the cemetery after school, but that thought went down the drain the second Gaige had caught his arm in their last hour.

As they passed, Roxas had to close his eyes to keep from looking over. The last thing he needed was to have to come up with another lie. He was already living one hell of a big one. "What's this about?" Roxas asked, finally, as they turned down his street, heading towards the apartments.

"Apartments, huh? That must suck." Gaige pointed out, looking to the blond some with a smile. "I just want to know who's taking my best friend to the dance, that's all. Invite me in?"

"No. Get off my back." The usually even-tempered Roxas was starting to show a bit of his anger towards him, turning cold, almost dull-blue eyes on Gaige. "None of the damn rumors are true, got it? The worst thing I've done is what you and Piper are holding over my damn head! If this is really how you treat random people, I'd hate to see how the rest of your damned lives turn out. Just leave me alone, and let Piper handle the rest of her blackmail. The last thing I need is someone breathing down my neck. I'm not going to hurt her, got it? I wouldn't even bother..." Roxas stopped and trailed, looking away. "Just...There's more going on than any of you could possibly understand, so back off. I'm just ready for this school year to be over with."

Gaige paused for a moment, then smiled, as if he understood, then grabbed Roxas by the front of his shirt and slammed him up against the wall of the building. "I swear to God, Roxas, I will murder you if you do anything that hurts Piper. Do you understand that? Everything you're working so hard to hide will come out in the open, and then you'll definitely be screwed for the rest of your life. Think about this; You have more potential to go to jail, while we have better control of our futures. Got it, asshole?"

Roxas gasped the second his back hit the wall. His initial reaction was to retaliate and punch the red-head in the face, but thought twice about it. Instead, he just kept his gaze fixed anywhere but Gaige's, which seemed to piss the other off more. Gaige went to say something, but closed his mouth when Roxas shrugged him off. "I get it. I'm not going to hurt her. I'm just being the good little slave everyone told me I'd turn out to be. Now, get lost, Gaige." He said, pushing past him and walking into the building. Gaige had half a mind to follow him, but something made him think twice, and he left it at that. Turning, he started to head back towards his own house, which happened to only be a forty-five minute walk from the apartments Roxas was staying at.

Once in his apartment, Roxas walked to the window over looking the parking lot, glaring at the back of Gaige's head, before turning to go to his room. There, he pulled the door open to a large, walk in closet with all kinds of things, ranging from clothes that didn't belong to him, to pictures that weren't of him, or by him. Walking further back, picking up one of them. With a sigh, he let his back hit the wall, sliding into a sitting position with a bitter laugh. "God, Ventus. Look at the mess I'm in. I'm falling behind, Dad's threatening to make me move back in. I've got blackmail hanging over my head..." He trailed and shook his head. _I'm talking to a damn picture again for crying out loud._ He thought with a bitter tone to it.

Putting it back, he got up and pulled one of the boxes down from the shelf, and started digging through it, pulling out a random journal and flipping it open, starting to read. He got so lost in the text, he barely heard someone banging on the door. Jumping, he got up, dropping the journal into the box carefully, and walking to answer the door, blinking when he saw who it was. "P-Piper..."

"Hey! Gaige told me you were a little down earlier, and where you lived, and..." She trailed, meeting his shocked blue gaze, tilting her head. "Um, can I come in?" She then asked, and Roxas came out of his trance, shaking his head.

"No. I mean...I was about to head out for a walk anyway. Wanna join me?" He asked, stepping out of the apartment, closing the door behind him, making sure he had his keys and that the door was locked behind him. Piper nodded slowly, a bit concerned, and extremely curious. She took a step back, and waited for Roxas to lead the way. And something hit him. "How'd you know which apartments number?"

"I looked at the things down stairs. I saw Strife and figured it was you." She said with a shrug, smiling weakly. God, was he glad he hadn't told them to put his first name on it. With a nod, he started to lead her from the building, and down the street. For a moment, there was silence, and then Piper spoke up again. "I'm actually excited for the dance...To be honest, I didn't think anyone would ask me." She started, glancing to him through the corner of her eyes, a dark blush crossing her cheeks at the smirk he gave her.

"Sure, you have a shark-like personality to those on the outside, but you're gorgeous, non-the-less. And once you get close enough, you don't seem like _that_ bad of a person. I mean, you're keeping my secret."

"At a price, though." She pointed out, meeting his gaze for a minute, before looking away again with a slightly guilty look. One that Roxas didn't like.

"What's on your mind?" He asked, tilting his head. 

"Well, you see..." She started, fiddling with the bottom of her shirt. "I don't... I mean..." She sighed and looked to him. "The rumors going around school, are they true?" Roxas stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes going dim, before dulling. She could see the hurt look in his eyes behind the agitated look on his face.

"Everyone at this damn school is fucking shallow, aren't they?" He asked, a light growl escaping his throat. Piper brought her hands up to her chest, a little startled. She didn't think Roxas was capable of being angry. Sure, annoyed. She had seen him annoyed before, when she stormed out of the cafe that one day, but he wasn't mad.

"Rox...?"

"No. None of it's true. I didn't get expelled, I never abused drugs. Like I told Gaige, the only thing I've ever done wrong was the racing. I hate how people think they know someone by how they act, or whatever the hell they use!" If there was something around to punch, he would have. And probably would have broken his hand in the process. But the closest thing was Piper. Roxas never _ever_ laid a hand on anyone unless they swung on him first. And hitting girls was out of the question. Yes, he believed if they hit you, you had every right to hit them back, but he didn't live by that.

"I-I'm sorry. I just...I wanted to know. I know it's not right, but..."

"I know, better safe than sorry, right?" He asked, looking away from her. At this point, he was wondering how long he'd be able to keep his real life a secret from everyone involved in the blackmail, and everyone close to those two. Piper nodded and lowered her gaze.

"I know the feeling a little too well, so..." She admitted, glancing to him through the corner of her eyes. He was looking away from her, glaring at something in the distance. Probably something to distract himself a little, she thought.

_If only you knew what else I was accused of..._ He thought bitterly, continuing to glare at the distant horizon. Right then he was wishing he had never moved out, but then he knew he would have been close behind his brother if he hadn't gotten out of that house.

"okay? Hey! Roxas?" Roxas jumped a little and looked to Piper when he felt her hand on his shoulder. "You said something."

"Huh? No I didn't." He replied, tilting his head.

"Yes you did." She protested, making a face. "It almost sounded like you said a name."

"Let it go." Roxas' tone went flat. "I just zoned out, that's all. I miss a few of my friends from my old school." He lied, turning to cross the street, failing to note the speeding car fast approaching them until he heard Piper scream and grab his arm, jerking him back, making them both fall from losing balance.

"Do you have a death wish?" Piper snapped, sitting up and rubbing her head, wincing. She was a little more focused on scolding and yelling at Roxas to have really felt too much pain. "Idiot, you're suppose to look both...What?" She asked when she noticed the pale look on Roxas' face.

"You're bleeding." Roxas replied, pulling his school jacket off, since he hadn't bothered to change, and moved over to her, pressing it to the back of her head, his stomach turning. He couldn't help but remember that his head was the first thing to hit the cement the day he had jumped. Piper felt Roxas flinch and looked up to him, wincing from the pain that shot through her skull. "Don't! Please don't move." He half begged, pulling his cell phone from his pocket. He knew he was never going to hear the end of it from her friends. He was already dreading having to go to school the next day.

Calling for an ambulance, he tried to keep the jacket pressed against her skull, though the feel of the blood soaking through was making him feel a little weak, like he was ready to just pass out. He was barely aware of someone answering, and himself giving information as requested, and their location, as asked.

It wasn't long until he found himself sitting in a waiting room with two really pissed off and worried parents. He was doing his best to avoid eye contact, and ignore the little nasty things they said about him. It wasn't as if he didn't feel horrible already. He wanted badly to just walk out of the room, and head back to the apartment, but he couldn't do that for two reasons; (a) He didn't want Piper's parents to bad mouth him more, or think worse of him, and (b) he felt as if he should just be there. He was responsible for it, after all.

When the doctor came in and told them that she was fine, that she just needed a couple of stitches, and she could go home, after the parents were properly instructed on how to keep the wound clean, and safe from infection. Roxas was dismissed by the pissed off look Piper's dad gave him, and he couldn't get out of that building quick enough. It made him wish there was a race that night to help take his mind off of it all. Sadly, he was going back to an empty, lonely apartment full of haunting memories he never wanted to forget. It was his way of punishing himself, after all.

He couldn't have too much fun, now could he?

**~Panda~**

Blah. Damn short chapters. x.x Oh well. So, whatcha think?

…

Wait! It's three pages! Evelyn just pointed that out to me.

YAY!  
Feedback is welcomed.

(But be a little nice. I'm in a fragile stage. xD)


	10. Accidents Happen

Accidents Happen

No one has heard from Piper the next two days at school. Her parents wanted to keep her home on those days to make sure that she wasn't rushing into anything. Piper wasn't going to complain, she didn't feel like dealing with every one's comments about her injury. But she knew she was going to have to face them eventually. Getting up and out of bed was always a pain considering the throbbing she always experienced in the back of her head. The doctors told her that it was going to be like that for a while. 'Well, doesn't that just suck?' She groaned to herself in annoyance to the pain. It wasn't something that hurt a lot, but she wasn't just not going to complain about it when it started to hurt. She wanted to stay out for another day, but she knew that couldn't happen. Plus, she wanted to see Roxas so he would know that she was okay.

Was she wrong to think that he could be worrying about her? Probably, but she knew that if something like that happened to one of her friends while she were around, she'd blame herself in a heartbeat. Wait, did she just consider Roxas a friend? No, he was merely an acquaintance that she was blackmailing to her advantage. That was it, right? More than likely... Not. She didn't want to think about it, but she was developing feelings for the blond. And hearing that he stayed in the waiting room until her results came in, made it feel like butterflies were tickling her insides. She refused to believe that she was falling for him.. Did he like her enough to want to be her boyfriend? Could that be why he asked her out? Why else would he do that? If he didn't want to, he didn't have to since she had no interest in dances in the first place. And more than likely would not have made any demands to be taken to the dance.

She never liked school dances since all she would do is stand or sit somewhere and not participate in much. Midna has tried to get her to go to dances several times and failed due to Piper's stubbornness. Even Dillon tried to convince her a couple times, and he even whipped out his puppy dog eyes that were almost impossible to reject. Piper had nearly given in, she owed their ninth grade Choir teacher a lot for interrupting Dillon's God-like powers of manipulation. Those powers were what got the four of them into a bunch of trouble. Well, nothing too serious. Just skipping classes, and staying out later than they should because of having a water gun fight or just simply chilling in the park and talking.

Going to the park and just taking a breather was one of Dillon's ways of cooling down from a bad day. Piper always agreed with that method, but she and Dillon's schedules usually didn't match so they could both go to the park together and so she could rant to him. She used to do that during Freshman year, she used to randomly bump into Dillon at the park and he would listen to her rant about people being stupid bitches at school. Sometimes she would do the same thing with Midna and Gaige, if it wasn't all four of them together. It was a good way to get their minds off the world and their own problems and just have fun with each others company. It was the way they kept each other sane through out the school years..

When she got to the Willow tree, Piper plopped down at the foot of the tree. Her mahogany irises glance around for any signs of her friends. A smile perked on her lips when she saw Dillon walking in her direction, lifting her hand she waved at him briefly before standing up to greet him.

"Hey, stranger!" Dillon greeted with a big smile and pulled her into a tight hug before letting go. "It's nice to see that you're still alive."

"More or less." Piper wrinkled her nose lightly at remembering what happened.

Dillon looked at her, head tilted slightly, his eyes narrowed when he noticed the stitched wound at the back of her head when she looked away from him. "Hey, what's that from?" The question startled Piper, making her jump a little bit and stare at him with wide eyes. That automatically made Dillon assume that something happened that she was going to deny. He always found it easy to tell when someone was lying, so now he was about to see if Piper was going to be truthful or not. Taking in a deep breath, he took a step towards her, stuffing his hands in his pocket with his eyes on the ground.

"So-" He lifted his gaze to Piper's surprised ones. "What happened? You fall or something?" He asked in a concerned, but casual tone. Dillon remembered when Gaige told him about Piper going over to Roxas' house a few days ago when he stated that he was going to go pay her a visit. He didn't know where Roxas lived, so he couldn't have gone over there to see her himself.

"Yeah, something like that." Piper smiled sheepishly while itching the nape of her neck. "You know how klutzy I can get sometimes." She dropped her hand to her side and observed Dillon's expression. It was hard for her to tell whether or not he believed her. He had no reason to, unless he was actually there when it happened. It wasn't like Roxas hurt her, if anything it was the sidewalk's fault. No one pushed her, she fell, making sure that Roxas didn't get hit by a car. But, she wasn't so sure how Dillon would react to Roxas being mixed into the story. Especially since she was aware of her friend's opinions of her. She knows that she should trust Dillon to be the understanding guy that he is, but apart of her tells her that it's not going to turn out that way.

"Excited about the dance?" Dillon asked suddenly.

"Yeah, I guess." She answered, kind of surprised at the sudden change of subject.

"Still going with Roxas?"

"Yeah..."

"Was Roxas there when it happened?" Dillon tried.

"Yes..." Piper's eyes widened when she let that question soak into her brain. "I mean-!" She started to panic when Dillon turned his back to her and started walking towards the school without a word. "Dillon! Come back!" She called out, almost feeling like she was going to cry out of frustration.

"Hey, Piper, what's wrong?" Midna asked when she approached Piper with a concerned look on her face.

"Dillon's going to get himself suspended. We have to stop him-" Piper said in a hurried voice, grabbing Midna by the wrist and started to pull her along towards the school. She could hear someone running up to catch up with them. It was Gaige.

"Hey, what's going on?" Gaige asked, eyebrows furrowed with curiosity. He noticed the stitched wound on the back of Piper's head. "Oh my god, Piper what happened?" He asked with worry in his voice.

"What do you mean what happened?" Midna demanded, looking to Gaige before looking at the spot Gaige had his eyes on. She lifted her hand to move some of Piper's burgundy strands to get a better look at it. "Oh my god, Piper! How did that happen?" She demanded fiercely, it wouldn't upset her as much if she had known about it when it happened. A part of her wanted to jump and say that Roxas must have done it, but before either she or Piper could respond, Gaige beat her to it.

"Did Roxas do that to you?" He growled out, Midna whirled around to look at Piper's reaction to that.

"Okay! Stop it, you two! Roxas didn't do anything, okay? I fell, that's it! He-" She didn't get to finish because Gaige brushed right past her and stormed towards the school. "Gaige!" Piper yelled out, not being able to hold back her tears out of frustration. No one was listening to her, and Roxas was going to get hurt for something that he didn't do.

Can this day get any worse?

"Tell me what happened." Midna told Piper in a soft voice while taking her hand, only to have it jerked away.

"We were talking and he kept walking and he would have gotten hit by a car if I hadn't pulled him away from the road! We both fell- I hit the concrete." When she noticed the uncertain look on Midna's features, she let out an aggravated groan. "He called the ambulance and if he hadn't I probably would have been out of school for longer than just a couple days!" Her voice cracked with emotion and more tears fell from her mahogany eyes. Without waiting for a response from Midna, she took off for the school, she was determined to find Roxas before Dillon and Gaige did.

"Piper, wait!"

She heard Midna call out her name, but she didn't listen or let her know that she heard her. Where did Roxas hang out in the mornings? She had no idea, her best guess was their first hour class. But, she thought about how he was tardy sometimes. Oh well, she couldn't afford to be picky, she had to find him before the other two did.

**Evelyn: Yaaayyy! Completion! :D Hope everyone enjoyed this chapter! Sorry if it was a little weird, but I tried. ^^ **


	11. Riot

Riot

Roxas sighed when he realized he wasn't late, but early. He had, had a rough night and couldn't sleep for some reason or another. He had woken up, having not heard his alarm, and didn't bother to look at the time, since usually it meant he over slept, and he didn't want to know how late he had that time. Once he had gotten on school grounds, he had been overly relieved he wasn't late, but then annoyed that he was early. _Could've had a couple more hours of sleep._ He thought with annoyance. Putting a book into his locker, he scanned the small space for the one he needed and reached for it.

He was so lost in his thoughts he wasn't aware of the two approaching him, or the pissed off looks on their faces. Or the kids that backed away out of fear of what was going to happen. When Gaige and Dillon were pissed and side-by-side, nothing good was going to come of it. A lot of people had learned that, and those that didn't warned the people they were next to, or friends with. Roxas had just pulled his arm back in time, the locket barely grazing his arm, the sound of metal slamming against metal echoing down the hall.

Roxas jumped and snapped his gaze to his left, his eyes narrowing. As if the day hadn't started off a little on the bad side. "What do you want?" He asked, glancing between the two. Dillon's pissed look faded, and a little smile graced his lips. Roxas wasn't dumb, though. That smile was dangerous. He didn't have much time to react as Dillon lifted his hand and swung, catching him off guard, and in the eye. Gaige took that opportunity to catch Roxas by the arms, move behind him, and hold him up, arms locked like hooks around his arms.

"What did you do to Piper?" Dillon asked in a way too calm of voice for the situation as Roxas tried to get a feel for what exactly had just happened. It took him a second to realize he was being held back, and instantly knew he was going to get his ass kicked if he didn't get free, or a teacher didn't come along to stop this.

"What the hell are you talking about? I haven't seen her in a few days, since she dropped by my place un..." He trailed. _Just fucking great._ He growled, dropping his weight a little, before pushing back, shoving Gaige into the lockers behind them, barely avoiding the fist that came flying for his face again. Gaige groaned, but was on his feet again in no time, grabbing Roxas by the sleeve of his jacket, jerking him back, slamming his knee into the blond's stomach.

"That's dirty!" Someone in the crowd called. Not many liked Roxas, and not many really knew about him, but it was a code that was never really written. Fights amongst students were to be a fair one-on-one ratio.

Roxas doubled over from the pain, wrapping his arms around his stomach as he dropped to his knees. Dillon made Gaige step back and walked in front of him, kneeling so they were eye-to-eye, forcing Roxas' chin up. "If I catch you near Piper, or even hear of it, I swear to God, Strife, I'll push your ass off the highest building in..." He trailed as Roxas' face paled, and his eyes widened with horror. The blond really hated how sensitive he was when it came to threats like that. He could feel his stomach turning at the thought of his own body hitting the concrete.

He lifted a hand and covered his mouth, closing his eyes with a weak nod. Dillon did not expect this kind of reaction out of Roxas. He had figured the blond would fight back, like he had started to, figured he would take that opportunity to slug him in the face as pay back. However, Roxas just sat there, one hand over his mouth, one arm over his stomach, eyes screwed shut. The blond could feel his left eye throbbing from the pain, and he was sure it was going to bruise before long, if it hadn't already.

"Screw the threats, Dillon! Beat his ass!" Gaige growled. Dillon stood and stared down at Roxas for a moment, before he smiled, drew his leg back, and kicked the blond into the lockers, before turning to walk away. Gaige just stood there for a moment, glaring at Roxas. Hearing a teacher, though, he turned and made a break for it. There was no way in hell he was getting caught that soon. Roxas groaned and sat there a moment. He went from holding his stomach to nursing the back of his head. It had hit the locker pretty hard, and Roxas was surprised he hadn't passed out.

Piper came running down the hall, her eyes widening when she saw a satisfied look on Dillon's face, and a rather annoyed Gaige, making gestures, as if asking him something. Piper stopped where she was and waited until they got close to her, arms at her sides. "What did you do?" She asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"Gave him a simple warning." Dillon replied with a shrug, looking away. "No one hurts you and gets away with it."

"Ah!" Piper screamed in pure frustration, stomping her foot, her scream echoing down the halls. "Would you just _**listen**_ to me?" She yelled, looking up at them. Both of them, needless to say, looked a bit shocked at the sudden outburst from her towards them. Sure, they were use to her temper, but something was different this time. "Jesus! I'm not helpless!" She growled, her eyes never leaving them, narrowing dangerously. "You wanna know what happened? Roxas was ranting about how people like _you_ are constantly judging him, and he wasn't paying attention. He looked genuinely hurt, and a little pissed, needless to say! He was going to cross the road, but a car was speeding down the street! If I hadn't pulled him back, then he'd be dead, and I'd feel responsible! We fell and I cracked my head on the sidewalk. If he was such a bad guy, he would have left me to bleed to death! Gah! You're treating him like people use to treat me!" She all but screamed at them, shoving past them and running down the hall.

Her words rung in their ears, and they turned and watched as she disappeared into the crowd of curious and amused students. And both of them felt horrible. She was right, they were jumping to conclusions and judging. Something Piper wasn't very fond of.

Piper growled, tears of frustration still making an occasional appearance on her cheeks as she made her way towards Roxas' locker. That was where they were coming from, right? She was right. She reached the area in time to see a couple of people knelt at his side, helping him stand, with a bit of difficulty. "Dude, come on. You need to go to the nurse's office." One of them tried, but Roxas just shook his head and tried to brush them off.

"I'm fine. I can't afford to miss any more school." He said, pushing away from them, stopping when his eyes landed on Piper's. Silence fell over them, and Piper felt a sudden coldness in his eyes as he turned away from her, but there was small hint for her to follow, and she did. He led her towards the auditorium, through the stage door. And she followed, growing nervous. She paused when Roxas turned on her with cold eyes.

"Roxas...Are you ok-" She didn't get to finish, the look in his eyes got colder, and he almost looked lifeless for a moment.

"That...Was low."

"Wait, no! You have it wrong, Roxas. Please, listen! No one else is today, and it's really..." Her voice got softer and she had to bite the inside of her bottom lip to keep more tears from falling. Roxas looked genuinely hurt. Not physically, because the way his eye was turning black had to be a dead give-away of the physical pain he felt. But he looked heart-broken, almost. "They wouldn't listen to me, Roxas. I'm sorry! I really am sorry!" She pleaded, her voice cracking. Standing there and looking at Roxas, she was reminded of her past in elementary and middle school. How she felt back then, even though she had her friends; alone, lost, hopeless...

"Whatever, Piper." His voice was hollow, and she imagined it was just a defense mechanism he developed. It made her wonder if his whole life had been like this. Rumors, threats, constant fights, always being judged.

She had no idea how bad the past couple of years for Roxas had been, and how it felt like eternity to him, but Roxas was no way in hell going to sit back and just let things like this continue to happen. "If they come near me again, they won't have lives to live anymore. Got it?" He asked, walking past her, covering his throbbing eye. Maybe he should just go home. Piper spun and glared at him. She was mad at him, at Gaige and Dillon, and frustrated, and upset. And no one seemed to care that day. She should have just stayed in bed.

"Are you giving up your end of the deal?" How she regretted those words as he looked over her shoulder.

"Tell the whole damn city for all I fucking care. Being in jail would be better than living in a world full of fake people that just love to hold shit over your head." He growled out, walking from the room, letting the door slam shut behind him. He felt his heart starting to pound against his chest harder than it had when Gaige and Dillon ganged up on him. He had just signed a death-wish, and he knew it. But he was in a bad mood. Maybe she'd give him a day to explain himself, and apologize. If not, he would know just how much of a bitch she had turned out to be, what with all the bullying in school and all.

_Roxas, you dumb-ass! Find her and apologize! Now, before everything you've worked for goes down the drain!_ The voice in his head didn't sound like his own, but like Ventus' when he would scold Roxas for making a wrong decision.

The rest of the day, Roxas and Piper were scarce when it came to friends, or class in general. The day came to a slow end, and Gaige and Dillon were feeling guilty for their little display that morning, while Midna felt almost as bad. She would have been right beside them, if it weren't for her best friend needing her attention. Still, though. Roxas found himself walking to the exit of the school he knew Piper was going to be exiting, and waited. He'd deal with her friends if he had to, but he needed to talk to her. He just hoped the two that didn't know, didn't wanna stick around for their conversation.

Sure enough, Piper came out of the building. Alone, to Roxas' surprise. Shaking the thought, though, he reached out and grabbed her arm before she could get too far. She whirled around, ready to hit whoever it was, and didn't stop when she saw it was Roxas. "Don't touch me!"

"Ow...I deserved that, but please, hear me out." He begged, slowly lifting his head to meet her dangerous looking gaze.

"Talk, and make it quick." She replied, folding her arms. Noticing the uncomfortable look on his face, she rolled her eyes and led him around the school building, where they had some kind of privacy. "Now, talk." She demanded.

"My reaction this morning was way out of line. There's been a lot going on lately, and it's had my nerves on edge. I shouldn't have, but I automatically assumed you told them it was my fault. You have absolutely no idea how sorry I really..."

"Are you just saying that because I hold your future in my hands?" She asked, tilting her head.

"No! I swear, Piper. I really am sorry. These past two years have been nothing but hell." His eyes held a pleading look, mixed with fear and emotional pain she knew all too well. And suddenly, she wanted to abuse her power over him even more. She deserved it, didn't she?

"You're still taking me to the dance?" She asked, and he nodded. "Then you're safe." And she could see how much more stress she was putting on him. For some reason, though, at that moment, she didn't care. Maybe it was just her bad mood talking, and she was possibly going to regret it later. But she just couldn't bring herself to care as she brushed past him. "I'll see you tomorrow, Roxas." She said with a small wave, and Roxas let himself lean against the school building. He knew in that moment, the rest of the school year was going to be nothing but a hell worse than his last school. He had too much at stake this time. Back there, everyone knew almost everything about him. Here? Well, here, no one knew a damn thing about him. Except Piper and Gaige now, who was holding his drag racing over his head.

He pulled his cell phone out and sent a text to Axel, the guy that always informed him of races, and pleaded to know that there was a race going on that night. He needed a distraction, in a bad way. Somewhere in the back of his head, he was thinking that by the end of the school year, he would be an alcoholic, drowning his sorrows in the alcohol, and forgetting everything he had worked so hard for.

He was relieved to get a text back letting him know there was a high amount of money at stake, and Damiyan wanted to race him for more than just the money...

Roxas accepted. Somewhere, in the very back of his mind, the morbid little Roxas that had been born that day was hoping he would crash and be hospitalized...

**~Panda~**

Aw! Poor Roxas! He just can't catch a break, can he? Well, review to see what happens next, kays?

(Chances are, we'll update before anyone does anyway...This story is fucking AWESOME!)


	12. Taking One For the Team

**Taking One For the Team**

As he pulled up to the starting line, and climbed out, Roxas couldn't help but feel a sense of guilt for doing a race the night before the school dance he had asked Piper to. But then, everything that had happened over the past few weeks crossed his mind, and suddenly, he wasn't feeling so bad. This was a distraction from the real world. Despite telling himself that he deserved this, and that he shouldn't feel bad, he still felt guilty. Walking over to a small group, he had a bit of time to kill before the race would actually start, and closed his eyes, automatically letting his weight fall against Axel. He wasn't the best for company, but when Roxas needed someone to rest against, to help him calm his nerves before the race, Axel was the first person he went to.

Axel felt how tense Roxas was the second he felt the slightest bit of weight from the blond and looked down with curious eyes. He knew Roxas got nervous before races, but he could feel the tension. Something was definitely bugging the kid. "Yo, Roxy. What's on your mind?" The red-head asked, wrapping his arms loosely around Roxas' shoulders. Roxas just stood there, taking in slow, deep breaths. Axel waited. He had learned it was never good to push Roxas for an answer when he was in a mood. He had earned a black eye once from it. Never did it again.

"School." Roxas finally replied, pushing himself away, slowly turning icy blue eyes towards Damiyan, who smirked a little. Roxas couldn't help but think the smirk looked a little familiar. But nothing came to mind, so he brushed it off and turned back to Axel and a couple others who were there.

"Wanna talk about it, or...?" A boy with silver hair and aquamarine eyes questioned, tilting his head. He had met Roxas back in their old school, right before he left, and he managed to keep in contact with him. They weren't exactly friends, but Roxas told him more than he was willing to tell anyone else. Hell, the blond didn't know why. Riku was one of the people he hated the most in school. It was probably the way the silverette carried himself. Like he was better than other people.

The two had almost gotten into a fight over it. Riku had respect for the blond because of it, and found out his e-mail address and pretty much stalked his ass until he talked to him. Roxas swore that Riku was a closet case, but never voiced that opinion. A moment of silence passed, and Roxas just smiled. A cold, empty, almost lifeless smile. His eyes went from an icy blue to a dull, dead blue. "Nah. I'll be okay." He said, turning his back to them and walked towards Damiyan, who rose a brow at him when he noticed the blond. "What's with the sudden desire to race me?" Roxas questioned as he got closer.

"Hn. Cocky little thing, aren'tcha?" He questioned, and Roxas shifted his weight, tilting his head some. Truth be told, Roxas was terrified of this man. There was something about him that Roxas did not like, but he couldn't place a finger on it. Even so, Roxas never backed down when they had close encounters. It just wasn't him.

"You're one to talk. You know, Damiyan, I really hate people like you. You carry yourself in a way that makes it look like you think you're better than everyone else. It pisses me off, quite frankly. People like you deserve to drop off the face of the planet with a slow, agonizing death." His tone was low. Damiyan smirked.

"I'm flattered that you think so much about me." He replied, and Roxas felt his left eye twitched.

"How can I not? I have a picture of your face with a few daggers sticking out of it." He replied, turning his back on Damiyan. "God, how low can you be? Racing someone like me for a title. Oh, how will I ever survive if I lose?" His tone held nothing but sarcasm as he walked away, flicking a wave over his shoulder, back of his hand towards Damiyan. A couple people that were watching snickered at this, and began to talk amongst themselves.

"And you have pictures of me too? How sweet..." Damiyan said, before glaring at his so called 'friends'. Roxas rolled his eyes. How conceited could one person be? Honestly! However, Roxas did not voice his thoughts. He just wanted to get behind the wheel and take his frustrations out on the tires of the car.

A good ten minutes later, the two racers found themselves behind the wheels of their vehicles, engines being revved in anticipation. It was the same girl as before. She seemed more nervous than ever, standing in the middle of those two cars. Roxas always watched her carefully, read her like it book, to estimate how nervous or scared she was to be standing there. Tonight seemed different somehow. She had a nervous look in her eyes that the blond just didn't like. Holding the usual black and white bandana, she raised it over her head, glanced between the drivers, inched a little closer to the cars, making sure she was dead even in the middle of them, then dropped her hands.

The engines roared to life, and tires screamed against the cement as the two of them took off from the starting line. Roxas timed it, let Damiyan get ahead by a few centimeters, then floored it. There was no way in hell he was letting a cocky bastard beat him. This was definitely good for stress relief, the cars side-by-side as they sped down the slightly narrow road, the front of their cars fighting for the lead. Damiyan, next to him, moved over to his right a little, and Roxas was about to try and speed up when he saw Damiyan's car coming towards his.

Instinct took over and Roxas slammed on his breaks. It was the first thing he had learned; _**never**_ slam on your breaks when your opponent tries to ram you. It could end your life, as well as your career. Yet, Roxas let instinct take over lessons, and did it. And regretted it the second he did...

Tires screeched along the asphalt, several colorful words escaping Roxas' lips as he tried to get the car back in his control. It was too late. Just as he turned to the left, the back drifted, too fast, and Roxas felt a 'thump', and his heart dropping into his stomach, the car slamming into a street lamp afterward. Despite any pain he was feeling, he forced the seat belt off, thanking every higher being there was that the car hit the passenger's side, and climbed out of the car.

It was definitely not his night...

The room was bustling with life. Students were already dancing, helping themselves to punch, or just laughing and having a good time. Piper was with her friends at the moment. It started off okay, since they had gotten there a bit early. Roxas wasn't there yet at that time. But as the night was progressing, Piper was getting a bit anxious. Roxas still hadn't shown up. _Come to think of it...He wasn't in school today, either..._ She thought, closing her eyes as she stood before the bathroom mirror.

Her face was damp with cool water, a way to keep herself calm, and not cry. But it was getting harder as the night went on. _I shouldn't have fallen for it. That stupid smile, those damn eyes! He's just like everyone else!_ The more sensitive part of her mind screamed, but there was a tiny voice, in the very, very back of her mind telling her otherwise. Telling her she wasn't stood up.

_**Something had to have happened.**_ It told her. **_Roxas doesn't skip out on anything unless he's as sick as a dog, or something worse, and you know it. He's came to school with a small fever before. He came to school exhausted, and he passed out in gym._** It reminded her. But she didn't want to listen to it. She was stood up and that's all there was too it. A soft sob escaped her lips, and she jumped when another female voice called out to her softly.

"Piper..." It was Midna. Her hair was pulled back into a light bun, a few curled strands hanging here and there to frame her face. Her blue eyes held sympathy for her friend. "It'll be okay. I'll kick his ass for you." It was a light attempt to cheer the girl up, but it failed. Piper sniffled, and ran over to her, latching onto her, and starting to cry.

No matter how many ways she looked at it, Roxas had stood her up. He broke his end of the deal...

Outside of the girls' room stood Dillon and Gaige. Their eyes were narrowed, both wanting nothing more than to beat Roxas' face in. "Let's go." Gaige said, turning to head out. Dillon followed quietly with slightly questioning eyes. "He broke a promise. He broke his end of the deal."

"What are you talking ab...Whoa." Dillon stopped talking when Gaige pulled a picture from his wallet. "He drag races...?"

"Yeah. He doesn't want anyone to know. It's going to ruin his future, and I can't wait to get this out to the public." Gaige replied, and Dillon looked up at him from the picture with a tilted head. So that was what was keeping Roxas glued to Piper like he was. He was just a puppet. Somehow, Dillon felt a little bad for the way they had been treating the blond. He continued to follow him anyway, thinking back.

Roxas always kept to himself, only talking to someone if necessary, or to ask for a pencil. He recalled incidents where he saw Roxas just seconds from a fight. _But for what?_ He questioned himself. _For defending someone. Didn't Piper say he had defended her against Xion once?_ He thought, blinking when he heard a few clicks, coming back to reality. They were already in the computer lab, and Gaige was setting up an e-mail to send to the whole school, and everyone else they might know.

With Roxas' picture on it.

"Gaige, wait!" He started, but it was too late. He had hit the send button, and Gaige turned to him with an annoyed look.

"What? He stood up Piper. He deserves what's coming." The red-head stated.

"The kid was just a damn puppet to you two. I thought you two were better than that. I thought it was weird that he was starting to cling to Piper, but I see why now." Dillon turned and started to walk out. "I'm going to see if I can't find him." Gaige glared at the back of Dillon's head.

"He's nothing but trouble! He needs to be taken off the streets!" He called after his friend.

Dillon sighed as he pulled into a parking lot. He walked up to the apartment building and pressed the button on the wall that was labeled Strife. He had managed to get the address from Gaige to the blond's apartment a while back when he was looking for Piper. Tapping his foot impatiently, there wasn't a response, so he buzzed it again. No response. Dillon growled with frustration and pushed a buzzer to someone elses apartment.

"Who is this?" A female voice came out of the intercom, he almost didn't make it out due to the static.

"Uhh. Dillon. My friend's missing and I need to see if he's in the apartment."

For a moment he didn't think she would let him in, but soon he heard a buzzing noise erupt from the intercom. Blinking with surprise, he was quick to open the unlocked door before he lost his chance. Remembering Gaige say something about it being on the second floor, he climbed up the stairs. When he got to the top, he looked around at the four doors, he found Roxas' but instead of going to that door, he went to the neighbor's. Knocking firmly three times, he backed up a few steps while waiting patiently for someone to answer.

"Who is it?"

The voice sounded similar to the one he heard over the intercom. "Dillon." He answered, "My friend's not answering, and I need to ask you something." Dillon heard the door lock being messed with and eventually the door opened to reveal a tall woman with curly black hair that stretched down past her shoulder blades. She looked like she had to be in her early twenties tops. Without waiting for a response to his last words, he let out a sigh, "My friend, Roxas, was supposed to be up at the school tonight and he didn't show up.. Have you seen him anywhere?"

"He was here earlier, but he left." She answered honestly. "I was about to leave myself, I think it was around one in the afternoon."

"Okay, do you know if his mom's home?" Dillon asked curiously. If his mom was home then he would continue trying to wake someone up.

"Oh... No. He lives alone. His mom passed away when he was three.." She blinked when she noticed the surprised expression on Dillon's features. "You didn't know..? Well.. I guess that shouldn't surprise me. He usually doesn't have anyone over, and he was even hesitant to tell me about it. He's secretive like that." She continued to ramble more to herself than to Dillon.

"He told me his mom worked as a Florist-at-home... I knew that sounded weird."

The ravenette narrowed her hazel eyes at the teenager, "I'm the Florist who works at home. I grow plants for the Florist Shop nearby. If you want to see my indoor Greenhouse feel free to step right on in and see for yourself." She said with light attitude coloring her voice.

Lifting his hands up, "Hey, sorry. I didn't mean to offend you. It's just... Never thought that a stay-at-home Florist would be living in an apartment." He told her honestly.

"Well, I could live in a house if I wanted. But these apartments are decent and they are closer to the University." She said, folding her arms against her chest. "But, off that topic. My name's Raine. Any friends of Roxas is a friend of mine. It's nice to know he has friends who worry about him..." She trailed a little before letting out a sigh. "I'll call the police and have them keep a look out for him... It's not like him to be gone this long."

"Thanks. I'll give you my number and can you call me if you hear anything?" He asked, tilting his head a little bit.

"Yeah, of course." When she said this, she took out her cellular phone and punched in the number while Dillon recited his number. "I'll call you if I find anything out. Good luck." Raine told him as she backed away, so she was in her apartment, and shut the door behind her. Dillon released a sigh before heading out of the apartment building and to his car. _He's sixteen and living on his own? Why isn't he living with a family member? And why the hell was he lying about his life? _That pissed Dillon off, he could understand not wanting people to know about his personal life, but why lie about your parents being alive? There wasn't anything wrong with it and he doubted that anyone would have thrown it in his face if he had said something. Well, he knew he wouldn't, and if Gaige knew, he knew that his friend wouldn't either.

_I'm going to punch some sense into that kid when I see him next..._


	13. Red Rum

_**Red Rum**_

Roxas felt his heart pounding against his chest. Being in a cell in juvenile was the last thing on his mind. He was more worried about the person he had hit. He knew, in the back of his mind, there was no hope for the man, but he couldn't help but pray to God that the man was alright. That he'd live, with a few scars here and there, maybe even have to have something amputated. Anything but death. _God, **anything** but death._

Unfortunately, he wasn't getting his wish. He watched as one of the police officers who had taken him into custody walked up to his cell, a very displeased look on his face. "How's it feel to be a murderer at just sixteen?" He asked, and Roxas let his head drop, forcing back the tears that threatened to fall. He had no right to cry. Whatever was coming, he deserved it. "You have a visitor." The man said, holding up the cuffs. Roxas lifted his head a little, nodding lightly. There was only one person he could think of. His father. Who else would want to visit someone like him? Who else knew he was in jouvie?

The cop walked off, and his dad came into view. A look of pure disappointment in his eyes. "You should have been the one that jumped. You're useless, Roxas. Your brother had so much more potential than you did. I'm ashamed to even think you're of my blood."

"It's your fault!" It was the first thing that came out of his mouth as tears streaked his cheeks. How dare this man standing in front of him say such things. "You never paid enough attention to us! You just gave Ventus all this stuff to do, all these expectations...He couldn't handle it anymore! He already had depression..." His voice lowered as he lowered his head, wrapping his arms around himself and drawing his legs up. No matter how many times he passed the blame to his...their father, no matter how right he was, he still felt responsible for his twin's death.

He really was a murderer. This was where he belonged...

"Is that so, Roxas? Who was the one that spent the most time with him? You had to have known something was up. You could have stopped him from jumping. Could have said something to someone, and we could have gotten him help."

_I know that._

"Yet, you kept it to yourself. I suppose you didn't want to believe it, did you?"

_Shut up! I know!_

"You should have just died before you were born."

"_GET THE HELL OUT OF HERE!_" Roxas screamed, lifting his head, tears of anger, frustration and emotional pain rolling down his cheeks, each emotion swimming in his eyes. Zack eyed him for a moment, before smiling and turning to walk away. He could hear Roxas repeating his brother's name as he walked away, as if begging the boy to come and comfort him. Just like he would do when they were younger.

The only difference from now and then; Ventus wasn't here to make the bad things go away anymore...

Midna hadn't been in school all day, and each of the friends in the small group knew it had to be something big. Midna never skipped. The whole school was buzzing about talk of Roxas' hobby, and Dillon was keeping his findings to himself. Piper was still a little upset from the night before, yet she felt a bit of victory, knowing Gaige had stuck up for her. She noticed something was off about Dillon though. Like he wasn't happy, or wasn't even all there.

School had came to an end with no talk between Dillon and Gaige and Piper. The brunette just refused to speak to either of them. He had good reasons. He was both disappointed in his friends for the things they had done, and was also trying to get to the bottom of things before he said anything to either of them.

Dillon had decided he was going to pay Midna a visit, worried about her, and told Piper and Gaige he wanted to go alone. And here he was, standing on her porch, slowly meeting the puffy, red eyes of the blue-eyed blond he had befriended years ago. "Midna...?" He questioned softly, though it wasn't exactly a question. She stood there for a moment, anger and sorrow dancing to an un-heard waltz in her eyes. And not three seconds later, Midna threw herself at him and began to cry, latching onto him. He gasped, and stumbled back a bit, but caught her, and his balance. "Midna, what's...?"

"He's dead!" She cried, turning her face into his shirt. "My grandpa's dead, and it's all Roxas' fault!" She cried out, before her voice was lost within her sobs. Dillon stood there, shocked, and rubbing her back. He just couldn't believe it. After a good ten minutes of standing on the porch, trying to comfort her, Midna slowly pulled away and rubbed at her eyes, whimpers escaping her throat every now and then. "He...Roxas...He's in jouvie right now..." She managed, slowly lifting her gaze, motioning for Dillon to come into the house, and he did. She led him up to her room, her parents not questioning her. He saw the looks they were giving him. It was like they were asking him to try and cheer her up a little bit.

Once in the room, Dillon shut the door behind him, walking over and sitting on the bed with Midna, who decided to make herself comfortable, and rest her head in his lap. He said nothing, but began to play with her hair. It was a stupid thought at a time like this, but he couldn't help but think how cute she looked in her blue plaid pajama pants, and white tank top. "I'm sorry, Midna." He murmured after a moment, and she shook her head a little, taking in a deep breath and letting it out with another whimper.

"It's okay, I guess...They said he didn't feel anything. He was dead upon impact. And then they began to question me about Roxas. I don't know what it was about, but the little bastard deserves whatever punishment comes his way." She growled out, clenching her fist around the leg of Dillon's pants. "No...Whatever punishment they give him is too good for him. I hope he suffers every day of his life for this, until the day he dies, old, and alone."

"Now, that's not really fair, Midna." Dillon said a bit cautiously. "And you know it too. You've watched him in school, haven't you? He wouldn't hurt a fly." Midna sat up and glared at him, pure hatred in her eyes.

"That boy is a murderer! You can't excuse that! He's a good actor, and you know it! Think about it! He's such an innocent little prick at school, but you can't tell me you didn't see those pictures of him! He's a completely different person the second he leaves the school's property!" She yelled, before breaking into tears once more, latching to him. "He killed someone, Dillon. He murdered my grandfather..." She whispered. A light sigh escaped Dillon's lips.

He had no idea which side to be on. If Roxas lied about his mother to hide his life, then there had to be a reason, yet...There was no making this situation better, no matter which way it was looked at. "It'll be alright, Mi-Mi. Think about it this way, now he can watch over you, right? He'll be like your personal guardian angel." He tried, beginning to pet her hair again. Mi-Mi was a nickname he had given her when they were in middle school. It was a term of endearment to him. It always seemed to set her off back then, but he had always caught the smallest of smiles on her lips.

Even now, he heard a weak laugh mix in with her sobs. "Such a damn optimistic. I hate it sometimes, Dill-Pickle." She murmured between sobs. He couldn't help but smile weakly, placing a soft kiss on top of her head.

"I'm right here for you, Midna. Just let it all out at once, it'll help a little bit." He offered, and she did. The two of them just sat in her room, on her bed, in silence that was broken by her cries.

And eventually, she had cried herself to sleep. He went to pull his phone from his pocket when it began to ring. He hit the silence and looked at the number. He didn't recognize it, but he assumed it was the nice lady that lived next door to Roxas. Raine was her name, he believed. Flipping his phone open, he hit talk and put the phone up to his ear. "Hello?" He questioned, just in case it wasn't her.

"Hi...Dillon?" The voice asked. It was her alright.

"Yeah, this is him. If it's about Roxas, I know where he is."

"It's awful. The poor boy is being accused of hitting a poor old man." Dillon couldn't exactly tell her anything, could he?

"I know..." He muttered, looking down to the sleeping girl on his lap. "The man was my friend's grandfather." He added, and there was a short pause, and a small noise.

"Oh, dear. I send my condolences to the family. I'm so sorry to hear it, but I honestly don't think that Roxas would be capable of such a thing." She stated in a knowing voice.

"I don't want to believe it, but it's true, ma'am. You see, my fr...Roxas had a dangerous hobby that I recently learned about..." He started. He shouldn't be telling the woman this. Hell, no one was suppose to know about it, right? Even so, he told her. There was silence on the other end, before she spoke again.

"No. There's no way that Roxas is capable of such things. He's a good, quiet little boy that minds himself." She defended in a slightly annoyed voice. "I have a feeling you weren't really a friend of his. That's a shame, Dillon. You seemed like a nice boy. Roxas doesn't need people like you spreading lies about him. He has it hard enough as it is." She said, before hanging up. Dillon just stared at his phone, a puzzled look on his face. He wanted to know what the hell was going on, and he wanted to know now.

So, he called Piper, and had her head to the juvenile center in town to see if she couldn't get in to see Roxas. Needless to say, Piper was confused, and reluctant to go, but she was promised an explanation later, so she agreed.

She wasn't prepared for what she was going to get...

**~Panda~**

Roooooooxxxxxxyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!

Never catches a break, that one.

Nope. Nope.

Until next time!

=3 Mreow!


	14. Falling Apart

_**Falling Apart**_

There she was. Piper was standing in front of a cell, in the juvenile center, in town. She was staring with confused, and surprised eyes.

There he was. Roxas was sitting behind those bars, in the juvenile center, in town. He was staring back with wide eyes, that showed fear, sorrow, and something else she couldn't put her finger on quite yet.

There were a few bruises visible on his arms, one on his cheek, and a couple of cuts. _Shouldn't there be bandages on them?_ She had thought the second she had seen him. They had stayed in silence, just like that, for a couple of minutes, before Roxas slowly lowered his gaze, with the guilty look of a criminal who knew he had been caught, and knew the consequences. _Isn't that what he is, though?_ She thought. The second his head dropped, she knew what that last emotion was...

Helplessness.

"Roxas..." She breathed, reaching up for the bars. He flinched and turned his head away. She noticed how his body tensed at the sound of her voice, like she was going to yell at him. She had, had every mind to call him every name in the book when she saw him, but she just couldn't do it. The second she had laid her eyes on him, she felt her anger die in her throat with the first word that wanted to escape. _Prick!_ She didn't even know what was going on yet. "I...I don't know what's going on, but I want an explanation." She demanded. Her tone showed her bitterness, and something in the way he shifted made her feel guilty.

Was he even going to tell her anything? If she didn't get it from Roxas, she'd definitely get if from Dillon. "...Who told you I was here?" His voice was weak, quiet, hoarse, like he had been crying. But his eyes weren't red, or puffy. They looked normal. Just...Holding too many different emotions.

"Dillon did...Why? Roxas, what's going on? Why'd you stand me up, and how the hell did you wind up in here?" She finally snapped. A couple of scenarios came to mind, but she wanted it out of his mouth. Again, there was a moment of silence, Piper holding onto the bars, her eyes gleaming with anger and hatred, glaring at the blond. "You broke your end of the deal, you know. Everyone knows now." She added as an after thought. Roxas just sat there a moment longer, and his shoulders moved a little.

"I figured they would..." He managed. Roxas didn't dare look up at Piper. He couldn't take anymore ridicule, or hate. Just the tone in her voice was enough to make him beat down on himself harder. "I...God, Piper..." He trailed, his voice breaking. He took a moment to gain control over his voice, taking in a deep breath, before releasing it in a shaky sigh. "He...All that..." He tensed again, and she heard him gag. "There was so much of it...Just like..." He trailed again, and Piper was getting sick of the missing puzzle pieces.

"Dammit, Roxas! Just tell me what the hell happened!" She almost yelled. That seemed to do it. To break the last thread of control he had. He dropped off the bunk, covering his ears, his eyes screwed shut. A silent scream escaped his throat as tears began to fall from his eyes, and he shook his head. His fingers were pressed so hard against his head, it looked like they would snap if he pushed any harder, the second joint in each finger bending inwards. Piper's eyes widened and she took a step back away from the cell, watching as he bents over his knees, forehead to the floor. "Roxas...?" She was careful this time, but she honestly didn't think he could hear her.

His body was shaking so much. The boy in front of her could not, no way in hell, be the Roxas Strife she was blackmailing. No, this one was different in so many ways. He was on the floor. He was depressed. He was _crying_. And a name slipped through his lips. She almost missed it, being caught in her own thoughts. _Did he just say...Ventus...?_ She questioned herself, frowning. _No. I was hearing things._

"He's dead..." Roxas' voice cut through her thoughts, and Piper snapped her head in his direction. Roxas was slowly sitting up, arms at his sides, an empty look in his eyes. If it weren't for the tear streaks on his cheeks, she wouldn't have known he was crying at all. That look. Piper did not, by no means, like that look. He looked...Empty. Dead, even. "It's my fault. I hit him." His voice was hollow as his usually bright blue eyes dulled to a dark blue. "I killed someone..." And she could have sworn she heard him say it, even saw him mouth it... _Again._

"Again?" She questioned, meeting his eyes for a moment, before looking away. She couldn't look into his eyes, or even at him. This was just so different, and she didn't like it at all. Before she had turned completely, she could have sworn she saw him nod his head, and mouth something else. But she didn't catch it.

"I'm sorry, Piper. I should have never...I shouldn't even be here...Alive." His voice was back to normal, and she heard him standing, and looked over to see him turn his back to her. "He was right. It should have been me."

"Roxas? I'm confused, Roxas. Who did you hit? Who are you talking about?" She asked, inching closer to the bars again. She wanted to reach in for him, but thought twice about it. She wanted to scream at him, to start making sense and talk to her. But she couldn't bring herself to do it. He looked so broken just a moment. And then, he turned to look over his shoulder, one of his everyday smiles curving his lips.

"I think...It's best you just forget you met me, alright? Your friends are right, you know. I'm not the type of company you'd want around. I could hurt you."

That was it. Piper reached through the bars, and just barely managed to grab a hold of his shirt and jerked him back towards the bars. His back hit the bars in what sounded like a painful way, but that didn't stop her from reaching up with her free hand, through the bars, and smacking him hard over the head. "What the hell is wrong with you? If you wanted to hurt me, I'm sure you would have done it already! If I recall right, you were fucking terrified when I cracked my head open, and called an ambulance, instead of taking advantage of it! And don't say it was an act; that look in your eyes. It was like..." She trailed. What was it like?

That look he had in his eyes. That pleading tone in his voice when he told her not to move, as he spoke to the operator on the line. It was like he didn't want to...

"Oh my God." She whispered as he turned around, looking unreadable at that moment. "Roxas, did...Did someone you were close to...Did they...?" She didn't finish. The blank look turned to pure hate.

"_Fuck!_ I wouldn't fucking be here if it weren't for you! God! What the hell is wrong with you? Blackmailing me like that! I was slipping, and it was getting frustrating, and..._ Fuck!_" He yelled. That drew the attention of the guards, and Piper was quick to back away from the bars. "You know what it's like to be the one on the receiving end of all that bullshit! Why the HELL would you put someone else through it?" He continued on, ignoring the guards as they pushed him away from the cell's bars, entered the cell, and once more restrained him with cuffs.

And the whole time he was yelling at her, his eyes had switched from hate to a look that was begging for help. Piper brought one of her hands up to her chest, watching in fear, feeling bad for Roxas, as they forced him along. He struggled a bit, and looked over his shoulder at her. And once again, he looked helpless. Like a child that was lost, looking for their mother.

And her heart dropped.

_Help me_.

He had mouthed it, of that she was positive. She was barely aware of the other guard that was kindly leading her out of the building. She thanked him, and turned to head off, automatically dialing out Dillon's number. When she got an answer... "Dear God, Dillon. That is not the Roxas we know." She whispered, pausing around the corner. Gaige had brought her up here, questioning her the whole way, but she couldn't tell him what she didn't know. He had almost turned around when she said it was to see Roxas, but she had threatened to jump out of the moving vehicle, and even started to open her door when he started to turn around. He was quick to change his mind. "He looked so...Broken. He went from calm, to crying, to yelling, to...Dead... I can't get it out of my head. He looked _dead_!" She breathed, leaning against the brick building. "I know, I swear I saw him mouth the words 'help me' as a guard took him away. He was causing trouble, being loud, so... _Fuck_ Dillon! Why did you...Wait, he said he killed someone. Dillon!" She growled, though it was weak.

"I'm sorry, Piper... He hit Midna's grandfather. But, there's something off!" He got out before Piper's growl got stronger.

"You sent me to talk to a _murderer_?" She all but yelled.

"Piper, listen! I want you to do some research, alright? I learned from one of his neighbors that..."

"Do it your damn self! I want nothing to do with someone like him. He's too damn good of an actor." She hung up and started towards Gaige's car. _But he's not, and you know it. You know every emotion he showed back there was real. You know damn well, Piper, don't you, that Roxas is broken, and scared. Just like had felt back in elementary school. No...It's worse than that, isn't it? Because, he has much more on his mind than you could ever imagine. He just **murdered** someone._

Piper tuned out her thoughts as she climbed into Gaige's car. "Piper?" He asked cautiously.

"He's a murderer." Piper said in a flat tone. "He hit Midna's grandfather. He's dead. Roxas is a murderer. Anything they give him is too good for him." She told the redhead. And neither one said anything else on the ride back to take Piper home. Because neither of them know what to say.

When she got home, as she walked up to her room, she couldn't help but freeze dead in her tracks as something finally hit and stuck with her...

"_I should have never...I shouldn't even be here...Alive. He was right. It should have been me."_

"What the hell did he mean?" She asked, staring up at her door.

**~Panda~**

Mew. It probably could have been better. Hope it doesn't seem like I'm trying to drag the chapters out. I wanna make them longer, but I swear I'm not intentionally dragging it on too much on purpose, if I am/did.

Mew Mew!

R&R please?

=3

Mreow!


	15. Convictions

_**Convictions**_

Over the next couple of days, Piper had done just as Dillon had suggested, and was doing all kinds of research on Roxas. And she wasn't too excited about what she found. In all honesty, she was a little disturbed. It was one big website dedicated to the Strife family. The owners of several hospitals around town. Under the main page was a detailed description of the facilities, the training all staff went through, and stuff like that. On the side were several links to different things, such as the head of the family, Zack Fair. And then there was something on a young woman, the man's wife no doubt, and then a link to a page that talked about the twins.

_Twins...He had a twin._ She thought to herself as she looked through the page. It talked about the twins, and how close they were, their dreams when they were children, and their dreams as they got older. It was a detailed description of each of them. Their likes, dislikes, hobbies, favorite foods, and least favorite foods. And it talked about how close they were to each other, and how they relied on each other to get through.

And then, at the bottom, it talked about the tragedy, and there was a video link to a news report. Reluctantly, she clicked the link, and sat back to watch. What she was was not something she would have ever imagined. There he was, Roxas, looking as if he was nothing more than a hollow shell of what was once a bright, out-going boy. The pictures from the site had shown that. But this... She barely heard the female reporter asking questions, down-right ignored the father, and focused on Roxas' expression, how his eyes avoided the camera, the woman, and even his father. Like he wanted to say something, but was sworn to keep his mouth shut about it.

"_There's nothing to say!"_ The familiar voice finally yelled from her computer, dull blue eyes snapping up to glare at the people around him. _"My brother is dead! Let him rest in peace, for fuck's sake!"_

"Dear God..." Piper murmured. She felt bad for Roxas. That must have been really hard on him. But at the same time, she was pissed off that Roxas lied about his life to her. He could have told her, and she would have understood, probably would have even let him go, and keep his secret to herself.

But then, who would want to relive the 'sympathy' after your brother's dead. Your twin. The second half of your soul. It must have had to be very, very hard for him. And this was all just a little over a year ago. He must have still been grieving, just trying to get by.

It was still no excuse, Piper thought. She left the page up, got up, and headed out. She was suppose to meet up with Dillon and Midna. They were going to the funeral with Midna. Midna had let them know that there was a hearing against Roxas within the next two days of the funeral. Piper wanted to go, but wasn't sure non-family would be allowed to go. So she didn't ask. She nodded to her mom as she reached the bottom of the steps, and they headed out.

Upon arrival of the funeral home, Piper saw a police car sitting in the lot with the blond in the back seat, staring at nothing. She saw how her friend, how Midna, tensed up, eyes shining with hate when she saw him. "What the fuck is he doing here?" She growled lowly.

"To show his respects." Midna's father said, looking back at her through the rear-view mirror. "The chief at the station called me. As much as I hated it, I spoke with Roxas, and agreed to let him show up to show his respects. After everyone else has, of course." He said in a tone that told her to keep her mouth shut, and behave. Midna sunk in her seat, before getting out of the car, Piper and Dillon climbing out behind her. There was family that Midna didn't remember. One that stuck out was a tall, dark-haired male that was standing at the far end of the parking lot with someone else she didn't recognize. His eyes were a dark blue, but that's all she noted before she turned and headed inside, unaware of the light blue eyes that were following her with remorse.

It was about three hours later, before Roxas was allowed out of the police cruiser, and escorted inside, avoiding eye contact with anyone. He heard someone in the background start to say something, then shut up. He figured it was Midna. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he came to a stop at the closed casket, his half-lidded eyes closing all the way in a silent prayer. He had failed to hear the foot steps approaching, and jumped when a hand rested on his shoulder, flinching away as if he were scared he was going to be hit. _I deserve it._ He thought, slowly opening his eyes when the blow didn't come, but the hand remained. "I'm so very sorry." It wasn't his voice. He didn't recognize it. "I..." He choked on his words for a second, and bowed his head. "God, I'm so sorry. I don't...I don't expect...Forgiveness, or anything close to it, but...I just wanted..." He trailed. He couldn't finish his sentence.

"It takes guts. To do something like this." The man said. Roxas just kept his head down. "I appreciate you coming here, but I think it's time you left. You're causing a bit of..." Roxas nodded and glanced to the cop, as if pleading for him to hurry and get him back to the cruiser. Without another word, Roxas was led back down the aisle, and towards the front doors.

"Murderer!" Midna yelled, voice laced with hate and pain. Roxas didn't react, just kept his head down.

The next couple of days didn't go by fast enough for Roxas, who had to remain in his cell, having to listen to the stupid lawyer his father had hired to help him find a way to plead not guilty. There was no way around what had happened, and Roxas was trying to tell his father that, with no luck of getting through to him. And to top it all off, at first Roxas was wondering why his father would do something like this, if he wasn't fond of him, but then it hit him; it was so his family name didn't get ruined.

_Fuck that. _The little voice in Roxas' head groaned on the day of the trial. And he groaned again when he saw the lawyer coming closer with the guard. _Mm...I want to do this on my own._ He thought as he walked to the cell doors and held his hands out so they could be cuffed, and stepped back so the guard could open the cell. And then they started towards court. _Hooray._

It seemed like forever before they reached the court room. Seeing the small family sitting there made him want to turn and run, but then reminded himself _why_ he was there. He let the guard lead him to his spot, and sat down, head lowered, ignoring the 'low' whispers coming from the other side. He almost didn't hear the judge call out the case number. He did, however, hear his lawyer stand up, and the faint sound of the judge's question ringing in his ears. _"How do you plead?"_

Roxas stood up as well, talking over his lawyer. "Guilty."

"Obje...! Wait, what?" Midna had started, standing up and slamming her hands on the wooden table, then trailed and turned her attention to Roxas, as did his shocked lawyer.

"I plead guilty." He repeated.

"Roxas, that's not..." The lawyer said, and Roxas turned cold blue eyes on the man, getting him to silence himself in an instant.

"I don't care what 'Father' had in mind for me. I'm guilty, that's all there is to it." Midna heard the cold tone in his voice, and she could tell that it was directed towards himself, and no one else.

"I wanna talk to the defendant alone." She said, looking to the judge, who rose a brow at her. "Please." She persisted, and the judge looked to the guard, who nodded and they were led to the back doors that would lead Roxas back to his holding cell. The second the door closed behind her, she grabbed Roxas by the front of his shirt and pushed him against the wall, the guard watching from the square window. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" She asked. Roxas had lowered his head and turned his gaze away from her, his bangs hiding his now dull blue eyes.

"I'm taking responsibility for my actions. Isn't that what you want?" He asked, his tone normal, compared to the look in his eyes.

"That's not...You're going to just throw your life away without even fighting?"

"I killed your grandfather, why should I fight? Now, go back inside. I just want to get back to the cell." Midna glared at him. She wasn't sure why she was so shocked, or why she suddenly felt sorry for him. Which pissed her off even more. Raising her hand, a loud 'slap' echoed down the corridor.

"I hope you rot!" She yelled, running back into the room as the guard walked out. Without another word, Roxas dropped his head again and let himself be led off. What else could he do? He was guilty, and needed to pay for his actions. Even if it was an accident.

**~Panda~**

Alrighty!

. . .

I did a terrible job, I know it.

I think I rushed things.

But, lucky me,

I has Evelyn to go back and do some editing for me this chapter. =D

**~Evelyn~**

Evelyn's Notes


	16. Probation

_**Probation**_

A few months had passed since the accident. The news had been buzzing over the incident for at least two of those months, and the school was talking about it non-stop for a while as well. Some students even made up rumors. Over those few months, the small group of four friends had discussed the situation the weekend after Roxas' trial, and had decided they wouldn't speak of Roxas, or anything related to him. Even after this promise, Piper had went to go visit him a couple of times.

It never went anywhere, though. She'd say hi, he'd nod. She'd ask how he was doing, he'd shrug. She'd tell him how worried she was, and he'd reply by saying; "I'm not worth the time". And the entire time he wouldn't look at her. They'd sit for a few minutes, and before Piper could gather the courage to ask him anything else, he'd lift his gaze towards the guard and nod, and then give her a weak smile before he was hauled off back to his cell.

Since the last time, when he told her he really didn't think she should visit anymore, she hadn't. Somehow, she felt guilty. That little nagging voice in the back of her head was telling her that he was testing her, to see how much he could rely on her. To see if she would really bail when he needed someone the most. But she ignored it. Roxas had made it clear he didn't want to see anyone. But that day was different. He wasn't his neutral self, or anywhere near happy. He was actually crying. Silently, but the tears were there, his eyes were red, and puffy.

With a sigh, Piper lowered her books onto her desk, failing to notice the boy sitting behind her desk. She had her eyes closed, and slipped into her seat. The class was unusually quiet this morning, and she didn't know why. But she didn't care to find out, either. Opening her eyes, she pulled out her notebook with a picture of Roxas taped to the inside, and began to copy down the notes on the board, taking in a deep breath through her nose. A familiar scent invaded her senses at that moment, and she turned around in her seat to see a head of blond hair sticking up from folded arms.

At first look, the boy appeared to be sleeping, with the gentle rise and fall of his shoulders being the only movements he made. He was wearing the required uniform, black jacket, black pants, white, button down shirt, but he had an accessory to go with. Around his wrist was an odd looking 'bracelet' so to speak. It had a green light on it, lit up, with a dull red light right next to it. Another seemingly long moment passed and the boy stirred.

Piper would have too, if she felt every kid in the class staring at her while she was hiding her face. Slowly, the blond lifted his head and came face to face with familiar eyes, a weak smile playing at his lips. "Surprise, Piper. I'm back on probation." He informed her quietly. His voice was quiet, just barely above a whisper, like he was losing his voice. And then she noticed the failed attempt to hide finger-shaped bruises on his neck, and she frowned. Roxas simply lowered his chin to his hands, which were folded on his desk. "I'm alright." He then said, letting his eyes slide closed.

"You're not stable enough to be with the mentally sane people. How'd you get out?" An annoyed voice finally sounded from across the room. Roxas rolled his eyes behind his lids and hid his face back in his arms. When he was released on good behavior, he was relieved, but now he was thinking he'd rather be back in the cell with the guy that tried to choke him a week back.

"Back off!" Piper growled, turning her attention to Gaige, eyes narrowed a bit. She expected better of her friend. "He didn't do anything to you." She added, their eyes locking for that short moment. Roxas finally sat up and shrugged, pulling out a note book, starting to take down the notes.

"It's okay, Piper. I don't want to come between you and your friends anymore than I already have. It's really better if we forget about it all. I won't be in this school much longer, anyway. I'm being forced to move back home." He said all of this, his eyes glued to the board as he jotted down the notes.

Piper stared at him with disbelief, "But, you aren't coming in between me and my friends! Gaige is just an asshole who needs to learn how to back off." She turned to give Gaige a dirty look before looking back to Roxas, to find that he was staring at her with a flat expression.

"Like, I said. It doesn't matter. I have to move back, which means I will be going back to my old school, living in my home town, where I won't be seeing any of you, if I'm lucky." His tone matched his mood: cold and loathing. Not wanting to see the hurt look in Piper's eyes, he looked away. Why should he care? The question was repetitive in his mind as he stared blankly at the chalkboard, watching as the professor wrote down notes for them to write down. He had let his pencil fall to his desk by then. He had too much on his mind to continue paying attention to the lesson.

The class went by too slow for the blond. As soon as they were dismissed, he decided he was going to skip the rest of his classes, and hung out in the courtyard, eyes cast up towards the sky in a daze, barely aware of the students that were coming out from the lunch room for lunch, to enjoy the weather. A sigh escaped his lips as he ran over the things that were more than likely to go down at his dad's house. How his father wouldn't be there, how it would be like living on his own, only with someone else paying the bills. Like how verbally abusive the man would be. And how he would be compared to his brother. The thought made him cringe a little from depression, and he let his eyes slide open. _I could always try and move in with Rayne._ He thought, shifting a bit uncomfortably. Rayne had helped him when he found himself in tough situations. She was like a mother replacement, or figure. Either way, it went the same direction.

If that happened, then Rayne would get in trouble for kidnapping a minor. The punishment would be tremendous, since it was his father. His father loved to wave his money around in everyone's face. Money seemed to be the only way to get through this world... It's still not that easy, but it creates shortcuts for most things. It's amazing how something so fragile could manipulate so many people and get away with. And if Rayne did let him stay with her, it would result in a nasty custody battle. His dad would more than likely bribe the Judge or do something to make sure that he comes up the winner. That's how it's going to end...

One way or the other.

_**~EvelynPanda~**_


	17. A Day Late Friend

_**Day Late Friend**_

When school ended, Roxas was more than happy to get home. Back to his apartment. He was in the middle of packing when there was a knock on the door. Groaning, he stood up, forgetting he held a picture of himself and his twin as he walked over and pulled the door open, his already dull eyes taking on a more cloudy appearance. "What?" It came out harsher than intended, but maybe it was a good thing.

"Roxas..." Piper started, fiddling with her hands now. "I just... Can we talk inside?" She asked, glancing past him, a new level of sadness taking to her eyes when she saw all the boxes. "He can't just make you go back."

"He can. And he will. He's a powerful man, he has money, and I'm still a minor." Roxas replied, tilting his head. "I don't have time to talk. I need to get my stuff packed." He said, cutting her off before she could say anything. Before he could shut the door, she put her foot in the way, and pushed into the house, turning to Roxas when she was inside. Roxas' eyes narrowed as he looked at her, shifting his weight. "Piper, I don't have time for this."

"Make time." Piper shot back, folding her arms. "I wanted to apologize. In fact, I know I have. You can quit acting like an ass!"

"I wouldn't be acting like this if you hadn't blackmailed me in the first place! I had enough on my mind without having to worry about you and your damn friends holding my only means of paying my rent over my head!" He was too pissed to realize that tears had formed, and were threatening to fall. "My brother killed himself and I didn't stop him. I didn't even see it coming, and I should have! And then my damn father was blaming me, comparing me to him, talking about how I would never add up to what he was! Telling me I was useless, and that it should have been me! Then, I manage to move out, because I can't take it anymore. I got a decent job, but it wasn't enough to keep the bills up, so I started to do something illegal to keep my bills paid, a roof over my head, food in my stomach. I needed to keep extra funds back to pay for school...And then..." The tears had fallen, but were still unnoticed to him.

"Roxas..." Piper started, reaching out. She gasped when Roxas smacked her hand away, then turned and slung the picture at the wall before walking past her to the box he had just been packing.

"Get out, Piper. Just leave, and don't ever talk to me again." He was telling her to leave, but his mind was screaming for her to stay. To comfort him. To do something to keep him from being alone. Piper stared at him a moment, her eyes narrowing. Walking over to him, slapping him across the cheek, as hard as she could.

"Is this the Roxas that your brother knew?" Silence filled the room, and the words that were on Roxas' tongue disappeared. It felt like his heart had nearly stopped. "Would he really have wanted you to be this way?" It was a low blow, and she knew it, but she also knew that she wanted to get to know the real Roxas. Watching his reactions, she grew cautious, but wasn't backing down. "Come on, Roxas. I know that you want friends. People that care for you. You've done some really stupid, and reckless things, but I can bet that if you stayed, and let the truth out, you'd make friends, and you'd be happier." His response surprised her a little.

"I don't _want_ friends! I want my brother!" Roxas retaliated, the tears falling finally. "I wanted so bad to follow him, but I had made a promise to him! This isn't fair, Piper!" His voice cracked, and he slowly sank to his knees. Piper was there with him, pulling him into a hug. "Ventus..." He breathed out, closing his eyes, slowly wrapping his arms around her.

"But you don't want to go home, either. We can help you. Let me help?"

"Please..." A weak smile formed on her lips. A few seconds later, the two of them jumped when there was a knock at the door. Roxas dried his eyes and stood on shaky legs, slowly walking over to the door, Piper in tow, to answer. Behind the door stood Rayne. She glanced between Roxas and Piper, and smiled. The woman was relieved to see that he had a friend over. Peeking past them, her smile faded.

"Well, isn't that a bummer." She muttered, looking to Roxas, who shrugged. "I just wanted to invite you over for dinner, but it seems you have company."

"Oh! I uh...Should go, actually." Piper said, looking to Roxas, who suddenly looked frightened. "I have a couple of things to do before I go home tonight, so...I'll call you the second I walk in the front door, okay, Roxas? Please, just...Don't go anywhere without telling me." He nodded and watched her leave, slowly leaning against the door frame.

"I think I'll take you up on that offer..." He muttered, slowly following her back to her apartment.

-

"So, what's with all of the boxes? Daddy making you move home?" Roxas nearly choked when Rayne asked, and looked up. "Please. I know all about you, Roxy. You think I don't find it suspicious that a sixteen-year-old lives alone? Not to mention, it's easy to see the resemblance between you and Zack Fair. Sorry..." She apologized at the look. "I'm just surprised that the kids at school haven't noticed the resemblance between yourself, and that kid that committed suicide a year and a half ago. It was big news, considering."

Roxas said nothing, and looked down. Rayne laughed a little. "What?" He snapped.

"Relax. There's a way to get away from here, and be free of your father." He tilted his head a bit. "Change your name. If you want to live your brother's life for him, be him. Run away, leave the country, if you want. Take that pretty girl with you."

"You're nuts..." He said, staring at her in disbelief.

"Okay, so maybe I go too far with things, but you can't just let that man run you're life. Remember that one time you crashed on my couch, because you locked yourself out? You talked in your sleep that night. Talked about Ventus, about your dad." She shrugged and smiled, waving her fork. "You're a good kid. You keep up with rent..."

"Barely."

"You're a good student."

"Falling behind."

"But that's because you're letting this all build up. Go see a counselor. Talk to someone. Get back in school, find a legit job..."

"It's a little late for that." He sighed, standing. "I have packing to do."

"That girl really likes you, Roxas. You can't just give up like that." She said as he stood, folding her arms over the table. "You want to prove your dad wrong, that you can survive without him, that you are worth something. You're brother believes that. I can tell. I'm not psychic or anything, but it always feels like there's something, or someone, following you. He's watching you, you know." She told him, waving as he rolled his eyes and left, going back to his apartment.

Walking to the bathroom, he finally looked in the mirror after so long, and really looked. All he saw was a blue-eyed-blond staring back at him with the remnants of a black eye, and dark circles from stress, and lack of sleep. A kid that looked sick. Really sick. The longer he stared, the more it looked like someone was standing behind him. His eyes widened and he snapped around. No one.

Shaking his head, Roxas walked to the bedroom and lied down. Looking to the picture at the side of his bed, he made a face. "Night, Ven." He muttered, slipping into a deep sleep, phone in hand to listen for Piper's call.

**Panda**

GAH! Been too long. And now I'm back. I'm starting the next chapter too. Hm...Thirty minutes to an hour. Let's see where I get.


	18. Been Here All Along

_**Been Here All Along**_

_The sound of dripping water startled him, and Roxas felt half awake, it seemed. Groaning, he slowly began to sit up. The sound of rushing water was a bit unnerving as he looked around. He was in a field, and it was night. The sky was littered with bright stars, and a full moon. Looking straight, there was a river, and standing in front of it was his twin. Ventus slowly turned to look at Roxas and smiled. "So, you finally 'woke' up."  
_

"_Wha...Where?"_

"_The field, where we use to go to get away. Remember?" He asked, walking over and kneeling in front of Roxas, reaching up with a frown. "Oh, come on. Stop with the tears, would ya?" He asked, yelping._

_It might have been a dream world, but Roxas could feel his touch, so took the risk, and was able to tackle him. "I'm gonna murder you!" Roxas cried, hiding his face in his twin's shoulder. Ventus laughed a little, patting his back._

"Come on, Roxie. It's okay." He assured. But the two of them just lied there for a good minute, before Roxas finally got up and sat next to him, staring at the water ahead of them.

"Why?"

"I wasn't strong enough." It was a simple reply, and Roxas felt tears brimming at his eyes again.

"But, why? I needed you as much as you needed me!" He snapped, standing and turning on him. "Look at the shit I've done! I killed someone!" There was a pause.

"_No, Roxas. You didn't kill that man. Damiyan did it. Somehow, he set you up." Roxas glared as Ventus stood, reaching out._

"_Don't! Touch me!" Roxas said, taking a step back, and he felt his heart drop when Ven's hand went through him, and Ven pulled away quickly, a hurt look in his eyes._

"_I'm so sorry, Roxas. I didn't know." He said, lowering his gaze. "I'm sorry. You always seemed so...strong. I mean, I know you were hurting, but you always managed to make yourself happy. I didn't realize, until..."_

"_Until what?" Roxas demanded, eyes narrowed._

"Until I stood over you a couple days after, watching you playing with that knife. Roxas, I was so scared! I didn't want you to do what I did! I regretted it the second I realized I couldn't take it back, and when I saw you...The last thing I saw was you, and the dead look in your eyes when you saw what I had done." Roxas was quick to reach for his side. A scar with his twin's name resided there. "I thought you were going to slit your wrist. Or stab yourself to death. But, I couldn't interfere. I..."

"SHUT UP!" Roxas screamed, covering his ears. "Piper, please, call me. Wake me up." He pleaded.

"_Listen to me!" Ventus snapped, grabbing Roxas' wrists, jerking his arms down, locking eyes with his twin. "I have been at your side this whole time. I couldn't leave your side. It hurt too much to see the way I made you hurt. I didn't deserve to go to heaven, and I wasn't ready for hell. I had to protect you. I didn't do a good job, but you're alive, and that's all that matters. I love you, Roxas. You're my brother. I'm so glad that you're alive. You're doing so well."_

"_LIAR!"_

"_LISTEN!" Ven yelled louder, causing Roxas to jump and look to him. The anger sub-sided. "Piper is here now. I'm not leaving. Not yet, but you have to let Piper and her friends in, okay?"_

"_What? Why? So you can leave me?"_

"_Roxas... You can't just go around like this just to keep me here."_

"If it means you can stay, then I will."

"I won't leave, I promise. But I want you to open up. Do something I couldn't. Do it for me."

"Ven..." Roxas pleaded, reaching for his twin's hand. "Ventus, please. You can't. I can't. Not without you."

"I've always been here, and I always will be, okay? So stop worrying." He said with a smile. Roxas glared at him through his tears.

"_I'll hunt you down and kick your ass if you ever leave me again."_

"I can't do that. Not with how bad I hurt you the last time. Just...Promise me you'll move forward, okay?"

"I'm scared." Roxas admitted through his tears.

"Me too." Ventus replied, a smile on his lips. "But all we can do is move forward, okay? Trust her. Defy Dad. Find a way to stay." Roxas nodded. "I have to go now. Piper's calling you. I love you. I'll visit you more often now. Promise."

"I'll hol..."

"Hold you to it." Roxas muttered as he came out of his dream world, groaning at the sound of his phone. Rolling over, he flipped it open. "Yeah?"

"Are you crying?" Piper's voice broke through.

"I think...Ventus just visited me." Roxas replied, closing his eyes again. "I don't...Want to be alone tonight. The front door is open, will you come over?"

"I'll be there soon. Roxas...?"

"Hm?"

"When I get there, will you tell me about your brother? I want to know...What you two were like together?" Roxas hummed a response, and Piper shook her head, looking to her phone when the connection was lost. Grabbing her jacket, she left a note for her parents, telling them she was at Midna's, texting Midna to get her to lie for her. Promising an explanation later.

And it wasn't long before she found herself standing in Roxas' apartment, walking around boxes, heading to his room. She paused at the door to see him on his stomach, a large scar on his side that read 'Ventus'. A frown formed as she walked over and sat on the side of the bed, brushing his bangs from his face. Roxas hummed and moved into the touch. "Roxy?"

"Lay..." He murmured, making room. Piper did so reluctantly and Roxas curled up in front of her, reaching for her hand. She let him take it, and smiled, watching him sleep a little. The two of them had been through hell the past few months, but maybe this was the start of something new?

**Panda**

Awwwwwww! I almost cried! Reviews? THANKS!


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